


Pups And The Trouble With Love

by TheRedLotusFlower88



Category: PAW Patrol
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Broken Friendship, Chase Is An Asshole, Denial of Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting Together, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, One-Sided Attraction, Unrequited Love, kind of, only for a little bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-12 00:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 46,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19937182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRedLotusFlower88/pseuds/TheRedLotusFlower88
Summary: Reposted from FF.netSomething is shifting between Marshall and Chase. While one tries to ignore it, the other is intrigue and decides to persuade it. But when that decision only ends in heartbreak, and while the other still refuses to admit to his feelings, will things be alright for the two? Main: MarshallxChase. Side: RubblexSkye, ZumaxRocky, and maybe some RyderxKatie. Complete.





	1. Chapter 1

It was an early morning in Adventure Bay. While people were still asleep, with the sun barely up in the sky, there were a few others that had woken up early, as part of their routine. One of those peoples, or rather, an animal, was Chase, the young German Shepherd in the PAW patrol.

Said German Shepherd gave out a yawn, stretching his legs, before walking out of his pup house.

"Hmm, still so early." He muttered, looking at the sky before looking at the other pups. The others were still asleep and Chase thought it was a good idea to let them. Being the overprotective pup he is, though, he decided to check in on others as well as the perimeter just in case something was amiss - or if Marshall had been sleepwalking again. Thinking about that episode, Chase smiled and shook his head. His best friend could be so silly sometimes.

Walking around the yard for a few minutes, Chase had concluded that nothing was out of the ordinary, and went to check up on the pups. Said pups were all still deep asleep, Zuma muttering about surfboarding - to Chase's amusement, Rubble dreaming about spiders _("Get away, get away, get away,"),_ Rocky sound asleep, and Skye twitching every now and then in hers. Chase watched her with a soft smile before moving on to his best friend - Marshall.

When he got to the fire pup's house, the German Shepherd felt his insides turning into goo at the sight of the Dalmatian sound asleep as well, cuddling tightly with his stuff bear. _Aww,_ he thought, smiling. _That's so cute._

Chase sat there for a while, just watching his best friend sleep. He had never noticed it before, but when Marshall was curled up like that, he kind of look like a small pup. Well, smaller than usual. It was an adorable sight, and Chase felt his heart melt as he continued staring at him.

 _Why am I staring? Why do I feel like this?_ He thought, but the questions went unnoticed. He continued to stare before getting up, and walking into the lookout for breakfast. Lately, Chase was starting to have some fuzzy feelings over the Dalmatian and it confused the young pup. He didn't know where the feelings were coming from, and he didn't understand why now, especially since Marshall was his best friend.

 _And ONLY my friend._ His thoughts snapped at him, but that only confused him more. Chase didn't understand why his own thoughts were so defensive about it, it's not like Chase liked Marshall like that...right?

"Morning Chase." Chase blinked and notice Ryder was already up and filling up the pup's bowls for breakfast.

"Morning Ryder sir. Didn't see you there." He said, sheepishly. Ryder just shook his head.

"That's okay Chase. Can you do me a favor and wake the others? Tell them that breakfast is ready." He said.

"Will do Ryder sir." And with that, Chase went back out the door to wake the others.

* * *

Marshall had been having a good dream when he felt something cold and slightly wet touching him.

"Marshall...wake up buddy. It's breakfast time." A voice said. Marshall muttered and curled deeper within himself, trying to go back to sleep. "Come on, I know how much you love food. You should hurry before Rubble eats out of your bowl."

Marshall groaned.

"He better not." The Dalmatian said, cracking one eye open to see Chase sitting in front of him, smiling. The German Shepherd chuckled.

"Well, you can't stop him if you're still here. Come on, grumpy." He said, but didn't wait for him as he went into the lookout. Marshall yawned and stretched out his limbs, shaking his body, before sluggishly making his way to the lookout. Sometimes, Marshall was even worse than Zuma when it came to mornings, as the poor Dalmatian never really did like getting up - especially if it was because of some dog version of yoga; but there was another reason why he didn't like getting up and it all has to do with a certain German Shepherd.

Lately, Marshall had been dreaming about Chase and usually ended up with Marshall blushing. No, it wasn't anything dirty, but for a long time, Marshall had... _feelings_ towards Chase that he knew for sure wouldn't be returned. Chase liked Skye, it was obvious, and Marshall really couldn't help but feel a little hurt at the thought. It's not like he didn't know why, cause he did - Skye was everything he wasn't.

For starters, Skye wasn't a guy - duh. Secondly, she was beautiful with a lovely personality. Marshall couldn't say one bad word about her, as Marshall had always felt like Skye more or less of a sister than anything, well, an adopted sister, really. Thirdly, what's not to love about Skye? She's brave, smart, pretty, and generous. Somewhere, deep inside of him, he knew he couldn't compete; Skye had won Chase's heart without even knowing, and maybe he should feel _something_ towards her, he didn't. He couldn't.

So lost in thought, he hadn't notice the others calling for him until Chase brought out his megaphone.

"MARSHALL!"

"ACK!" Marshall jumped, staring at his friend as if he had lost his mind. "Chase! Why?!"

"You weren't paying attention! We'd called your name, like, thirteen times!" Chase said, and Marshall looked around at the others sheepishly when he'd noticed some annoyed and concern faces.

"Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something." He said.

"Is something wrong Marshall?" Ryder asked, concern. Marshall shook his head and smiled.

"Nah, I'm good."

"You sure dude? Don't wanna talk about it?" Zuma asked, raising an eyebrow. Marshall just grinned.

"Like I said, I'm good."

"Well, okay, just remember you can talk to us. Okay?" Ryder said, slowly going back to his food. Marshall just nodded and dig into his own food in his bowl. He couldn't shake of the feeling of being watched while doing so and shivered.

Looks like it's going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

After breakfast, the pups decided to play in their backyard of the lookout. Well, most of them anyway.

Marshall, still feeling a bit sleepy, decided to take a nap underneath the big tree of their yard, near the tire swing. Letting out a sigh, the Dalmatian pup circled around for a bit before laying down, closing his eyes. He tried to ignore the others, who were laughing and having fun, but it became increasing difficult - partially because somehow, he wasn't as tired as he thought. This lead the black-and-white pup to huff in annoyance, suddenly feeling agitated.

 _Why can't I sleep?_ He thought, twitching every now and then. When the problem didn't go away, Marshall growled, huddling closer to himself, and forced himself to sleep. As much as he'd tried, he couldn't. Marshall let a sigh, feeling completely annoyed and open his eyes.

"Looks like I'm not going to get any sleep for a while." He muttered, and was about to stand when Chase looked at him.

"Marshall? You okay, bud?" He asked. Marshall blinked before giving the German Shepherd a smile, ignoring his speeding heart.

"I'm good. Great, even. It's just," Marshall sighed, looking down at the ground. "I can't sleep."

"Oh," Chase said, before an idea popped into his head. "Hey, maybe I can help!"

"How?" Marshall asked.

"Be right back." Chase said before running off towards Marshall's pup house. Marshall watched as the German Shepherd came back with Marshall's toy in his mouth. Placing the teddy bear down, Chase grinned. "Forgot you like to cuddle, so maybe your stuff teddy will make you fall asleep."

Marshall blushed.

"Oh right. Thanks Chase. Hey, you want to take a nap too? You look pretty tired yourself." Marshall asked. Chase was about to object to the offer, when a yawn was suddenly pulled out of his mouth. Looking up, he'd noticed Marshall smirking smugly and blushed.

"Okay, maybe I am a bit tired." He said and they both laughed. Chase immediately took a spot next to the Dalmatian, and began to drift to sleep. Marshall watched before settling down himself, bringing his teddy close to him before falling asleep as well. A minute has passed and the Dalmatian had unconsciously let go of the teddy, and moved closer to the German Shepherd, sides touching each other. The rest of the pups who were still playing saw this and grinned.

"Aww, that's so adorable." Skye said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Even unconscious, they always remained inseparable." Rocky said.

"Yeah. I've been told they were like that since they were young, when they first met each other." Rubble said.

"It's true. Even before I got here, Chase and Marshall were the best of friends. They always looked out for each other, and taking care of each other. They're more or less like brothers." Skye giggled.

"Yeah, well, I don't think brothers would do that." Rocky said, pointing towards the two sleeping pups. The others looked on and gasp when Marshall began to nuzzle Chase's side with a small smile on his face. Chase responded with a huff, but didn't do much about it.

"Um...are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Zuma asked.

"Maybe he's just having a good dream." Rubble said, not seeing why the others are making such a big deal about it.

"Good dreams doesn't make me want to nuzzle the dog next to me, Rubble." Rocky said, looking over at the pups before glancing back at the group.

"But it doesn't mean anything. I agree with Rubble. Maybe Marshall is just having a good dream." Skye said. Rocky was about to respond when suddenly-

_"Paw Patrol! To the Lookout!"_

"Ryder's calling!" The group said before hurrying towards the lookout. Meanwhile, Chase and Marshall groaned as they were awaken. _Why does my side feel warm all of a sudden?_ Chase thought, before glancing down to see his best friend had abandon his toy and chose Chase to cuddle with. Something about that disturbed him greatly, and without thinking about it, Chase was immediately at his feet and away from Marshall, who fell because of the sudden movement.

"Sorry Marshall." Chase said, grinning sadly. _Why did I react like that?_

"It's okay Chase. Ryder needs us. We should hurry." Marshall said, shaking his entire body, before running past Chase to get to the lookout. "Race ya!"

"Hey no fair!" Chase said, running behind the Dalmatian.

Unbeknownst to the German Shepherd, Marshall had only ran to cover up his hurt feelings. _He pulled away because of me, I just know it._ Marshall thought sadly. Lost in thought, Marshall didn't notice Ryder's wrench out near the doorway, and was immediately launched into the air and landed on the remaining pups. They groaned.

"Sorry pups." Marshall said.

"It's okay Marshall." Skye giggled. Just then, Chase appeared and sat next to the pile.

"Finally, I wasn't apart of this." Chase said and the group laughed as the elevator went up.

 _Laughing to hide the pain._ Marshall thought as he and others got their pup packs and suit on before meeting Ryder. The poor Dalmatian could feel his heart breaking, but he choose to ignore it. He just hope that Chase would forgive him for his feelings.


	3. Chapter 3

"Find anything Chase?" Ryder asked. Chase, who was sniffing the ground, looked up.

"Not yet." He said.

"Hmm...how about you Marshall?" Ryder asked, looking up at the fire pup, who was climbing up his ladder to the town hall's bell.

"I haven't found anything." He said, but just as he said that, a small 'meow' was heard, and the pup turned around to see a small kitten inside the bell. The kitten was pure white with blue eyes, and she looked frighten. "Found her!"

"Great! Bring her down Marshall." Ryder called out. Marshall held out a paw, smiling gently at the kitten.

"Hey there, Crystal. It's time to get down now, your owner is looking for you." He said, slowly reaching for her, when the kitten hissed and made a swipe at Marshall. Quickly, Marshall pulled back and in turn, lost his balance on his ladder. "Whoa!"

"Marshall!" Both Ryder and Chase shouted, and the ten year old began to run towards the spot Marshall was. When he got there, he caught the fire pup with an 'oomph' and Marshall smiled and gave his owner a lick.

"Thanks Ryder. Great catch." He said. Ryder smiled before putting Marshall down and looked up at the kitten, who was crawling out of the bell.

"Uh oh." He said, watching as the kitten started to lose her balance and was barely hanging on the roof. "We have to get her down."

"How? When I tried to help, she swiped at me." Marshall asked, looking down at his paw. The cut from the kitten's claw was small, but still noticeable. A small drop of blood was starting to seep through the wound, and when Chase caught the smell, he started to worry.

"You okay Marshall?" He asked. Marshall felt his heart flutter at Chase's concern, but shook his head. He had a job to do.

"I'm good. Let's rescue the kitten!" He said, giving him a big smile.

"If you're sure..." Chase muttered. As if somehow hearing this conversation, the kitten gave out a 'meow', staring at the others with panic eyes, as she started to slide closer and closer to the edge.

"Marshall, can you climb back up? And hurry!" Ryder asked. Marshall nodded.

"Sure thing! I'm fired up!" Marshall said and ignoring the small pain shooting up from his front paw, he ran to his truck.

"Chase, be ready to catch them in case Marshall falls again." Ryder said.

"You got it Ryder sir!" Chase said, already getting his net cannon out. The smell of iron lingered about and despite the worry for his best friend, Chase knew that the rescue was more important. _It's not._ A voice disagreed, but Chase shook it out of his head.

"Okay kitty. Let's try this again." Marshall said and with a forced smile, held out his arms. "I'm here to rescue you. Please don't swipe at me."

The kitten glared at the Dalmatian, but did what she was told and jumped into Marshall's arms. Predictably, the extra weight caused Marshall to lose his balance once again, and again, Marshall started to fall.

"Chase!"

"On it! Ruff, ruff! Net!" Chase yelled and the net was placed in the position for both Marshall and the kitten. When the two landed, Marshall bounced once again and landed into Ryder's arms, the kitten landing on his chest.

"Crystal! There you are!" An older women shouted, running towards the group. The kitten meowed, getting off Marshall and towards her owner. "Crystal, what have I told you about running off? And please stop climbing high buildings, your gonna give mommy a heart attack." She said, scratching the top of the white kitten's head. "Thank you for saving my kitten, Mr...?"

"It's just Ryder, and it's no problem Miss. Whenever there's trouble, just yelp for help!" Ryder said.

"Yes well, I must repay you somehow. I got it! I'm having a party, more like a ball, this afternoon in Adventure Bay. You, your friends, and your pups are invited. I insist you come, it'll bring me so much joy to have this town's hero joining me for dinner." She said. "As a thanks for saving a star."

"Um...okay?" Ryder said with an uncertain tone in his voice. "Thanks Miss...?"

"Please, call me Rachael! If anyone ask, just tell them you are with me." Rachael said before walking away. Ryder, Marshall, and Chase watched her go.

"That was weird."

"Yeah. She made it sound like we were dealing with someone famous." Chase said, chuckling. Marshall laughed.

"Yeah! I don't know anyone who's famous named Crystal." The Dalmatian laughed, placing his hurt paw on the ground, and couldn't stop the flinch. "Ow!"

"You okay Marshall?" Ryder asked, concern.

"I'm fine, really. Just need to spray some disinfection and put on a bandage. It's nothing really." Marshall said, grinning weakly. Ryder gave out a small hum before holding out his hand.

"Marshall, can I see your paw for a minute?" He asked. Marshall blinked, but did as he told and both Ryder and Chase gasped at the amount of blood pouring from the wound. "Marshall, you're bleeding!"

"What?" Marshall said, looking down at his paw. "Oh. I must have agitated it when I was climbing up the ladder."

"Or doing anything physical, like running. Let's hurry home and get that wrapped up." Ryder said before getting his pup paw. "Rubble, do you think you can come down here and get Marshall's fire truck?"

_"Sure thing, Ryder!"_

"Huh? Why does Rubble need to get my truck for?" Marshall asked.

"If you're losing this much blood because of you climbing up the ladder, I don't want you to lose anymore than necessary. Besides, you can barely keep your eyes open. Chase, let Marshall ride in the back of your truck." Ryder said.

"Eh. Who knew a small scrap from a kitten's claw can do this much damage." Marshall said, chuckling weakly.

"Marshall, can you stand?" Chase asked, the concern and worry overflowing in his eyes. Marshall was about to, but the moment he put pressure on his wounded paw, he whimpered and sat back down. "I'm guessing that's a no. Can you at least get on my back?"

"I'll try." He whispered and with forced effort, climb into Chase's back. Somehow, Chase felt as though the touch was little too intimating, and felt his face heat up. _Calm down, you're just helping your friend._ He thought, breathing in slowly before letting it back out and moved towards his truck, ignoring Marshall's body heat entirely.

Meanwhile, Marshall was deliriously happy.

 _Chase would make a good mate._ He thought, nuzzling the pup below him. The action caused Chase to freeze in place. _Don't do what you did earlier. He's wounded and doesn't know what he's doing._ Chase thought, but Chase seemed conflicted and he didn't know why.

 _Think about it later. You got an injured pup, who's losing blood too fast for a small wound on your shoulders, literally._ With that thought, Chase slowly placed Marshall in the back, buckled him up for safety and quickly head over to the lookout. _I'll have to figure out what's going on soon, after this._


	4. Chapter 4

"There we go," Katie said, as she wrapped a cloth bandage around Marshall's front paw. "There. Nice and tight."

"Ahh, that feels better. Thanks Katie." Marshall said, looking at the blonde while resting on the pillow-bed inside the lookout.

"No problem, Marshall. Just remember to change the bandage weekly so the wound doesn't become infected nor will the blood start to clot up too much." Katie said as she got up from her spot near the Dalmatian.

"I will, thanks again." Marshall said. That's when Katie turned to Ryder.

"He's going to need to stay off his foot for a while, until the wound is healed." She said.

"Will do, Katie. By the way, a lady has invited me and the pups to a party near City Hall. I was wondering if you would like to come with me?" Ryder asked, feeling his cheeks turn red. Katie blinked, blushing, before a shy smile formed.

"You mean, like a date?" She asked. Ryder stuttered a bit.

"Y-yeah, like a date." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Of course I would! At what time?" Katie asked.

"Around 7, I believe it was. I'll pick you up at 6 if you don't mind." Ryder said. Katie smiled.

"Of course. See you then, Ryder. Bye Marshall!" Katie waved at both the boy and the dog.

"Bye Katie!" Marshall said, before looking back at Ryder with a smirk. "A date, huh?"

Ryder blushed.

"Can it, Marshall." He said, causing the Dalmatian to snicker. Throughout the day, there was no more rescues and when the sun was setting, everyone with the exception of Marshall, was heading out the door to the party.

"Bye guys! Have fun! Oh, and bring back food, if you don't mind." Marshall said. The others looked at him.

"You sure you're going to be okay by yourself, Marshall? I could always ask Cap'n Turbot to look after you." Ryder said, but Marshall shook his head.

"No, I'm good. Besides, Cap'n Turbot has to lookout for his lighthouse today. Weather calls for fog near the bay, so I really don't want anyone to get stuck on the rocks because of me." He said.

"If you're sure..." Ryder said.

"Don't worry dude! We'll bring back lots of dog biscuits!" Zuma said, causing everyone to laugh before heading out the door. When the door shut and the silence echoed around the empty lookout, Marshall sighed.

"Can't even play Pup Pup Boogie. Now that's sad." He said, chuckling.

* * *

Meanwhile, the rest of the group were heading towards City Hall. The rest of the pups awed at the scenery before them.

"Wow..." Rocky gasped.

"It's so beautiful!" Skye said.

"Look at all the customs!" Zuma said, watching the people around them.

"Yeah, they all have a mask on their face." Chase said. Suddenly, a familiar popped up and began running towards them.

"Hi Ryder! Hi pups!" Everest said, smiling.

"Everest!" The pups shouted.

"Everest, you were invited here too?" Rubble asked.

"Yep. Jake and I had to rescue some of the people on top of the mountains, and when that lady named Rachael found out, she insisted we came too." Everest said, before looking around and frowned. "Hey, where's Marshall?"

"Back at the lookout. He hurt his paw during a recue of a white kitten named Crystal." Rubble said. The frown on her face deepen.

"Aww, that's too bad." Everest said, before perking back up. "Hey, did you meet one of the movie stars yet? He's super, duper fun! And he likes to play too! His name is Bruno, and he's a Border Collie! He's very smart, cute, and has like, the most exciting life ever!"

"Sounds like someone has a crush." Skye teased, giggling when Everest blushed.

"Wait, movie star?" Chase asked.

"Yeah, that's what this whole thing is about anyway. Mayor Goodway should tell you, that is, if you can find her. Anyway, I'm off to chat a little with Bruno. See you pups later!" Everest said, before running away towards another crowd.

"Huh. Guess Marshall wasn't too far off when he'd said we were rescuing someone famous." Chase said. He felt a small twinge of pain in his chest as he remembered his best friend was back at home, with no one looking after him. _I'm just worried is all. What if Marshall needs something and he can't get it because of his leg?_ Chase thought.

"May I have this dance, my lady?" Rubble asked, bowing in front of Skye. The pilot giggled, lending out her paw.

"You certainly may." She said, and with that, the two began walking towards the dance floor. Meanwhile, Zuma nudge Rocky.

"Dude, all you can eat buffet..."

"Count me there!" With that, Zuma and Rocky headed off into the direction where the food was. All that was left standing there was Chase, Ryder, and Katie.

"Chase, we're going to find Mayor Goodway and ask what's going on. In the meantime, enjoy yourself, okay?" Ryder asked. Chase nodded and as soon as the two were out of sight, he sighed. _Everyone had paired up, but me._ He thought, deciding to wonder around the party. He'd spotted Skye and Rubble dancing, and while that should have made him feel something, it didn't. _What's wrong with me? I like Skye, so why is my feelings changing?_ He thought. _And if I thought about it more, my feelings towards Marshall did too. But why? The better question is, when did it happen? SHOULD it happen?_

The more Chase thought about it, the more worried he'd became.

_Marshall is my best friend. Skye is my crush. Just about everyone knows it. So when did the two become so complicated?_

He shook his head.

"Maybe, I just need to clear my head. That should do me some good." He said, before turning around and walking away from the party. "Besides, maybe Marshall needs me." _Or anyone, for that matter._ He thought, as if to add on to his speech. Chase sighed.

He's going to get to the bottom of it, he was sure.


	5. Chapter 5

As Chase was walking around, his mind clearly somewhere else, he'd accidentally bumped into a another dog, a French Poodle, who had been sitting in the way, looking at the sky.

"Oops. Sorry Miss." He said. The Poodle gave him a soft smile.

"That's quite alright, sugar. Seems like I'm not the only one with my head in the clouds." She said. Chase smiled weakly.

"Yeah..." There was a pause before the poodle spoke up again.

"Mind tellin' lil' old Sasha what's got a young, handsome German Shepherd like chu so worked up? I'll be happy to lend an ear." The poodle, Sasha, said, laying on her stomach and looked over at Chase. Chase bit his lip.

"That's just it, I don't know. At least, I thought I knew..."

"Why don't chu start from the beginning, sugar." Sasha said, again, with a gentle smile on her face. Chase waited for a minute, took a deep breath, before speaking with the French Poodle.

"I have a crush on a female companion of mine. Her name is Skye. She's the most beautiful pup I ever met, and she's really nice and brave. I've been crushing on her for a while, and just about everyone knows it." He said.

"Does this Miss Skye know too?" Sasha asked. Chase blinked.

"Maybe...but she never said anything if she did." Chase whispered, looking down at the ground with sad eyes.

"Go on. It seems like chu have more to tell." Sasha said and Chase nodded.

"It's been little over a year now, and nothing's change. Well, not from appearances, anyway. I have a best friend. His name is Marshall and he's been with me since the day I had joined the PAW Patrol. We did everything together, playing, rescues, and he's such a great friend. He's always there for me, looking out for me, and whenever I got sick, Marshall was the first one to take care of me. Of course, he's only pup on our team with medical experience, thanks to Katie." Chase said, smiling and chuckling softly at the thought of his friend. He sighed. "Marshall isn't here because of an injury from a cat we'd rescued earlier today."

"So I heard. On the behalf of the studio, I would like to apologize for my co-worker's action. She really isn't fond of dogs." Sasha said, giving Chase a playful smile, before continuing. "But chu know what sugar? It sounds like chu have moved on, without even knowing chu'd moved on."

"Moved on? Moved where? I'm still here." Chase said and Sasha chuckled.

"No, no. Not moving as in physical moving, I meant you must have gotten over your crush on Miss Skye." She said and Chase eyes went wide.

"WHAT? No way! I still like her that way!" _I think..._ He thought, gulping slightly at the thought.

"Sugar, it's okay. That's what happens when a crush is just a crush, chu like a person for one moment and in the next, chu see them like chu would a normal person. It happens a lot." Sasha said, but Chase refused to listen.

"No, no, that's not true. And even if it was, who could I possibly moved on to?" Chase asked, glaring at the older dog.

"Who do you think?" Sasha asked. It was all of a matter of seconds before Chase came to the conclusion, and his eyes went wide as a very faint blush appeared on his face.

"M-Marshall? Y-you think...?"

"I'm only going by what chu told me, sugar. Chu claimed that Miss Skye was the most beautiful pup chu've met, that she's nice and brave, but didn't talk about her much afterwards, as much as one would have when talking about a crush. Then, chu have been in here for a little over year, and nothing's happening between the two of you. Did chu at least admit to her how you feel?"

Chase shook his head.

"I...actually forgot about it, at one point." Chase mumbled.

"My point. A year, nothing's changed, but your feelings might've. I heard it all the time with humans, that so long as time continues to move, so does our ways. Or something like that, but chu get the point. Your feelings are no exception." Sasha said. Chase didn't say anything for a while, so Sasha continued talking. "Plus, I saw the way chu looked when talking about your friend. When chu spoke, your eyes lit up like Christmas lights and chu looked so happy, so full cheer, so... _in love._ "

"Okay, now I know you're crazy." Chase said, glaring at Sasha.

"I've seen the look before, sugar. In humans, in dogs, in cats, and heck, even in marine animals, such as dolphins." She said.

"There is no possible way that I love, or even have a crush on, Marshall. He's just my friend, that's all." Chase stated, slowly staring to feel angry all of a sudden. Sasha shrugged her shoulders.

"Chu're just going in denial. Sooner or later, chu're gonna have to face the truth sugar." She said, before getting up and walking away. Chase watched her go before huffing, turning his head away.

Him? In love with Marshall?

Never going to happen.


	6. Chapter 6

Meanwhile, Marshall had been busy looking at the T.V, catching the latest episode of Apollo, when he heard the doors to the lookout slide open, and turned around to see Chase walking in, with his head down.

"Chase? What are you doing here? I thought you were at the party." He said. The German Shepherd was startled at his voice, before looking back at the ground, feelings a bit nervous.

 _What am I suppose to say? I was worried that because of your paw, you'd be helpless and in need, so I'd left the party to watch over you?_ He thought, nibbling lightly on his lower lip. Not only did the thought sound a little too concerning, in Chase's mind, but it was also implying that Chase thought Marshall couldn't look after himself, when Marshall very well could; and despite the type of dog Marshall was, the Dally was quick to anger when his authorities was in question. It was a lesson nearly all the pups had learned when the PAW Patrol was first forming.

"Eh. It was kind of boring, so I'd left." Chase said, taking a seat next to his best friend.

"Oh, alright." Marshall said, before turning back to the show. It was an awkward silence, both pups mind somewhere else, but almost simultaneously, thinking the same thing.

 _He's so close to me,_ Marshall thought, slightly blushing. _I can feel his warmth._

 _There is no way I had falling in love with Marshall,_ Chase thought. _He's my best friend. Nothing more, nothing less. That Poodle was wrong._ That's when Chase remembered something and turned to Marshall, only to pause. _Is...is his face red?_ Chase shook his head. _Whatever._

"By the way, you were right. We were rescuing someone important. A movie star, apparently." He said. Marshall's ears perked up, before glancing at the German Shepherd next to him.

"Really? Wow, that's awesome! Too bad I'm missing it." He said.

" _We're_ missing it, Marshall." Chase said, chuckling. Marshall smiled shyly.

"Yeah..." He said. Once again, silence crept upon the two, but only for a short moment, as Marshall continued to speak. "Hey, did you tell Ryder where you are? He might get worried."

"Oh yeah, I forgot." With that, Chase began to contact Ryder through his tag.

_"Hello, Ryder here."_

"Hey Ryder, it's Chase. I just want to let you know I'm back at the lookout." Chase said.

 _"Okay, Chase. That means I have to explain what's happening for a couple of days to you and Marshall tomorrow. Please look after him Chase."_ Ryder said.

"I will. Chase out." With that, Chase ended the call, and Marshall scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"I can look after myself, I hope he knows that." The Dalmatian said, albeit grumpy might I add. Chase felt his lips twitch and looked over at the spotted dog, amused. _He's so cute when he's annoyed._ Chase thought and blinked. _Wait, what?_

"He knows, but he's worried, Marshall. We all are." Chase said. Marshall glanced at the German Shepherd warily, a conclusion already forming in his mind.

"Is that why you're here? Because you're worried about me?" Marshall asked, and against his wishes, Chase felt his face heat up - what the cause was, he didn't have a clue. Some abash, and some from embarrassment.

"Y-yeah." He choked. Marshall smiled, and began nuzzling his head against Chase's neck.

"Aww, Chase. That's sweet of you to come here and check up on me." He said, not knowing that Chase's face was that of a tomato, and began to feel slightly uncomfortable with the touch.

"Heh. Yeah. So sweet." With that, Chase quickly pulled away from Marshall, who was about to fall, but stopped himself on his bad paw, which caused him to flinch. Seeing the look, Chase felt guilty. "S-sorry."

"That's okay, Chase." _I know you don't feel the same way, but can we at least pretend?_ Marshall thought, but quickly shook his head. "Anyway, I'm tired. You can watch T.V if you like. Goodnight."

"Night." Chase muttered and as soon as Marshall was fully asleep, Chase sighed. "It's just not possible...right?"

* * *

The next morning, Chase was the first to awake when he saw all the pups were back together, also asleep. The German Shepherd blinked and yawned, before glancing towards the last place he'd seen Marshall, and to his shock, the Dalmatian was the furthest away. _What the? Did he move?_ He thought, before shaking his head and got up, going outside to do his daily patrol.

The birds seem chirpier today, and like always, nothing was too out of the ordinary. _If you don't count yesterday, as well as Marshall moving away from you._ He thought, and despite everything, the action hurt. _Did I hurt his feelings yesterday? I'd apologize._

Chase sighed, looking up at the sky. _Is the Poodle telling the truth? Did I really fall for my best friend? But how? How could I?_ Suddenly, an owl noise was heard and Chase looked over to his left to see little Hootie flying towards him.

"Hi Little Hootie. I haven't seen you in a while." Chase said. The small owl 'hooed' in agreement, perching on the top of Chase's head. "I miss you too, how's your mama?" When the owl spoke, Chase smiled. "Glad to hear it. Tell her I said hi when you go back to her, okay?"

"Talking to owls, are chu?" Surprise at the voice, Chase looked to see the same French Poodle, Sasha, standing there, smiling. Almost immediately, Chase was on the defensive, baring his teeth, growling, as he glared at her. "Now, now. No need to be all aggressive. I won't tease chu, if that's what you're worryin' 'bout."

"You," He snarled. "What did you do to me? And why are you still here?"

"Why am I still here? Why, there's a movie taking place here, of course! My producers and colleagues all loved this little town, so they thought Adventure Bay was the perfect place to film a movie! I was just wanderin' around town, greeting the folks here, when I couldn't help but notice this little building just outskirts of town. I'd figured I'd take a closer look." Sasha said, sitting down, even as Chase continue to growl at her.

"You didn't answer my first question." He said.

"Hmm? Oh, right. The 'what did chu do to me', part? Well, I can't help chu if I don't know what I did."

"You told me that I might be falling for my best friend," Chase said. "Now I've been feeling weird around him. So I repeat, what did you do?"

"I never said such a thing, sugar. I only told chu that chu might've moved on from Miss Skye." Sasha said.

"But you implied it!"

"No, _chu_ implied it. Chu could've talked about anyone, but the moment chu'd talked about your best friend, it was all over, clear as day." Sash said, huffing slightly. "But it's quite alright. I can take the blame, if it helps."

Chase said nothing, but the look on his face said everything Sasha already knew. _My,_ she thought. _This is one tough cookie. I just hope he realizes his feelings soon, or else._

"He's my friend. Nothing more, nothing less."

"So chu keep saying."

"It's true."

"Maybe it is, maybe it's not."

"It _is."_

"Who are chu trying to convince? Me or yourself?"

 _Both._ Both the Poodle and the German Shepherd thought. Chase shook his head and growled lowly from his throat.

"This is official PAW Patrol property. I have to ask you to leave right now, Miss." Chase said. Sasha sighed before getting up and turned to leave, but not before she spoke again.

"Darling, if chu keep denyin' your feelings, please take note that chu're not the only one chu're hurting." With those departing words, Sasha left, leaving Chase to wonder what she'd meant, when little Hootie caught his attention.

"I don't know Little Hootie." Chase said, looking at the bird.

"Chase? What are you doing outside?" Ryder asked, giving the German Shepherd a confused look.

"Sorry, was just watching over the backyard and chatting with Little Hootie." Chase said and Ryder smiled.

"Such a good pup. Come on, time for breakfast. Then, we have to help out with studio setting up near City Hall after." Ryder said before going back into the lookout. Chase stared out where he could see Sasha walking back to town. As if sensing this, the Poodle looked up, smiled, before walking again. Chase's eyes narrowed.

"I don't trust that dog, Little Hootie." Chase said. "Don't trust her one bit."


	7. Chapter 7

After breakfast, the PAW Patrol went down to City Hall to help out with the movie studio.

"Thanks for helping out, Ryder." Rachael said, grinning soft at the boy.

"No problem, Rachael. Rubble, think you can help out with the lights?" Ryder asked, looking at the bulldog. Rubble nodded and went to get help out some of the producers with the lights. "Skye, I need you to help hook up that giant black screen over there."

"You got it Ryder!" Skye said. "Ruff, ruff! Wings!" When her wings came out of the pack, Skye began to run before taking off in the direction Ryder had ask her.

"Rocky, if you see any equipment that's broken, do you think you can fix it?" Ryder asked.

"Green means go!" Rocky said, before taking off to the pile of junk Rocky had saw on their way of coming here.

"Is there anything else you guys need help with?" Ryder asked, looking at Rachael. The women thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. That's when Ryder turned to the others. "See if you guys can help the other pups in anyway you can."

"You got it Ryder sir!" Chase said, as the three remaining pups went their separate ways. Rachael smiled.

"These pups are adorable. Do they always do what you tell them?" She asked.

"Most of the time," Ryder chuckled. "It wasn't always easy to get them to follow orders."

Rachael chuckled.

"I know that feeling all too well. Though, maybe it's normal. You can't train a cat, after all." She said and Ryder laughed lightly.

"By the way, how's your pet doing?" He asked.

"Hmm? Crystal? Oh no, she isn't _my_ pet. She belongs to my daughter, one of the main characters in the movie, Amanda." Rachael said, and before Ryder could question, Rachael turned around. "Amanda dear, would you please come over and introduce yourself?"

That's when a girl, around Ryder's age, with long brown hair, green eyes with freckles decorating her face, turned around at the mention her name and smiled, before making her way over to the women and Ryder.

"Hello. I'm Amanda." She said, smiling shyly.

"Hi, I'm Ryder." Ryder said, to which made Amanda's eyes glittered.

"Ryder? From the PAW Patrol? I've heard so much about you! Thank you for rescuing my kitty. Also, I'm sorry she injured one of your own. Is he doing any better?" She asked, and Ryder smiled.

"You're welcome, and as for Marshall, he's okay. In fact, I couldn't keep him from coming out today, as he wanted to help out with the studio." The ten year old said, chuckling as he remembered the sad puppy look he was given for trying to keep Marshall indoors.

"Wow, that's so kind of him! And you for helping us get set up." Amanda said. As the two continued to talk, Rachael watched the other pups as they worked together, with humans or the other pets, to finish the setting when an idea struck.

"Hey Ryder? How do you feel about having your pups in our movie?" Rachael asked, to which both of the kids paused.

"In a movie?" Ryder whispered.

"Why not? They seem to like helping out others, and well, our movie needed six more pups anyway. Seven, if you include Everest." Rachael said. Ryder bit his lip, staring at the ground.

Being in a movie sounded fun, but Ryder knew too much about his pups to even consider it. Skye and Rubble would be excited at such a thing, the two wouldn't have a problem being in front of a camera. Rocky was a little shy, but not as bad as Marshall, who has stage fright completely and Ryder would never force the fire pup to do something he wasn't comfortable with. Zuma would shrug it off, but likewise with Skye and Rubble, would be excited to join as well. And for Chase? Chase didn't seem to care much about the whole thing anyway, and lately, the German Shepherd was becoming more or less of a grouch as the studio continued to stay.

"I don't know. One of my pups hates being on stage." Ryder said. Rachael nodded.

"I understand. Bruno use to be shy around the camera too, but I think, with a little guidance, they could overcome it." She said.

"We'll see. You have to ask Jake about Everest though. She's his pup more than anything." Ryder said.

"Okay, well, after you and pups talk about it, come see me, okay?" She said, before walking away. Amanda looked at Ryder.

"You don't have to, if you don't want to, you know? But it'll be really cool to have someone around my age to talk to. A lot of celebrities kids I've met always seem to come off snobbish in one way or another, and since there's nobody else on the sight except my kitty and dogs..." Amanda shrugged.

"It's not really up to me, in a way. Like I said, Marshall has stage fright. I highly doubt he'll be comfortable being in front of a camera. Besides, there's his paw I have to worry about. He can't be up and about for more than a few minutes, and I'd hate for his paw to start bleeding again." Ryder said. Amanda nodded in understanding.

"I understand. Like my mom said, if you're willing to change your mind, we're here throughout the day." And with that, Amanda left, leaving Ryder all to his self.

* * *

Meanwhile, the pups were working quite effectively, and while Chase was giving orders to everyone to do their part, Sasha came up to him.

"My, aren't chu a bossy little thing? I expect nothin' less from a German Shepherd." She said, and Chase groaned, closing his eyes in both frustration and anger.

"You again?"

"Sugar, so long as my producers are here, I am here. Chu can't tell me to leave, now, this is my area." Sasha said, and Chase grumbled, knowing she was right. Besides, he didn't want to come off as rude in front of everyone - no matter what his feelings towards Sasha are.

"If you're here to aggravate me about my 'true' feelings, would you kindly go away?" Chase said, glaring at the poodle. Sasha 'tisk'd', shaking her head, in what Chase suppose was pity, which cause him to growl out in annoyance.

"There's no need to be rude, sugar. I actually came to tell chu what a good job chu're doing." She said, but Chase gave her a look of disbelief.

"Uh huh." He said.

"No, I really mean it." Sasha said, smiling lightly. Chase felt his eye twitch.

"Now you're just mocking me."

"Hmm...if chu say so, sugar."

"Look, nothing's going to happen between me and Marshall," Chase gritted his teeth. "So why don't you give it a rest, already?"

"I haven't even mentioned your friend this time." Sasha pointed out, to which...she had a point. Chase felt his eye twitch again, and urge to claw the French Poodle eyes out was starting to appear.

"No, but you were thinking about it. Marshall's my friend. Skye is my crush. I like her and would rather be in a relationship with her. Marshall's..." Chase paused, somehow loss for words. Sasha raised an eyebrow.

"Marshall's?"

"Marshall's..." Chase gulped, his throat feeling dry. "Marshall's..." _Just say it, already!_ His thoughts screamed at him. "Marshall...is my...my..."

"Your...?"

"..." Chase didn't say anything after that, staring at the ground. Sasha sighed.

"Oh sugar," She muttered. "How long will chu keep foolin' churself?"

"My friend." Chase finally said, glaring Sasha. "He's my friend, and nothing's going to change that. Nothing _will_ change that." _I'll make sure of it._ He thought. Sasha sighed and shook her head again.

"Chu cannot predict that."

"Oh yeah? Watch me." Chase growled out, before storming away. Sasha sighed just as Bruno came up to her.

"Playing Cupid _again_ Sasha?" Bruno asked, looking at the Poodle next to him.

"They said this would be my biggest challenge yet. They never said just _how_ big it was." Sasha said, before an idea popped into her head and turned towards Bruno, smiling. Seeing the look, the Border Collie hesitated.

"What?"

"In order to make this work, we must try another way. The other pup," She said, her smile growing bigger by the second. "And _chu're_ going to help me."

Bruno's eyes went wide, and before he could protest, Sasha added: "It's the least chu can do after I helped chu find your mate."

The Border Collie bit his lip, before accepting his fate.

"Right. What do you want me to do?"


	8. Chapter 8

Meanwhile, with Marshall, the Dalmatian was busy setting up certain props in certain places as the director had wanted. He was about to set some fake fur - the same color of Sasha's fur - down near the steps of Mayor Goodway's office when he suddenly bumped into another dog.

"Oops, sorry." He said, placing the fur down. The dog, the Border Collie named Bruno, looked down at him.

"It's alright man. I was just getting ready for my big shot!" He said. Marshall just chuckled before moving on to the next place the director wanted. Bruno followed him, wondering how to start off the conversation. "So...?"

"Marshall." Marshall said, too busy trying to get the set together.

"Marshall. You're part of the PAW Patrol, correct?" Bruno asked.

"Yes sir! I'm a PAW Patrol member, the fire pup!" Marshall said, holding his head up high, and placing all four paws on the ground, winching as pain shot up from his wound. Seeing, Bruno grew concern.

"Hey, you alright? I know Crystal's claws can be dangerous." He said. Marshall smiled shyly.

"Fine. Just a little pain. After this, I'll go home, change the wrapping, and lay down for a while." He said. Bruno nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself, before speaking again.

"So, tell me more about the PAW Patrol." He said.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"You, your teammates, anything really." Bruno said, shrugging his shoulders. Marshall grinned at the thought of someone taking interest in something Marshall considered the most important thing in his life, and began to ramble.

"Well, there's six of us, seven if you include Everest. She's the newest addition to the team, but she mostly does snow-related jobs and lives on Jake's Mountain, so we rarely get to see her." Marshall said. At the mention of the Husky, Bruno grinned.

"Hey, I know of her. She was at the party last night. She's a pretty pup, if you don't mind me saying." He said. Marshall nodded before looking back at Bruno with a sly grin on his face.

"Interested in her already?" He teased, causing Bruno to blush and look at the ground. Marshall chuckled. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Huh. Yeah..." Bruno continued to look at the ground, but Marshall continued talking.

"Then there's Rubble. He's the bulldog, and youngest of all of us. When we first met him, the guy's pretty chill. He loves to dig, hence the rig, loves to bathe, and pretty funny, in my opinion. Tough lil' guy, but lovable." He said as the two walked around. "Rocky is the mix-breed. He's the pup in green, and he loves to recycle. He also has a tickle spot near his tummy, and he hates water."

"Really?" Bruno asked, one of his ears twitch in surprise. Marshall nodded.

"Yep. Then there's Zuma, who basically the opposite to Rocky when it comes to water. He's a Chocolate Labrador with the orange diving gear. The pup has a speech impairment, but no one really talks about it, since Zuma is embarrassed about it." Marshall said, giving Bruno a sad smile. Bruno just returned the smile with a understanding one. "Then we have Skye, the only female in our group. She's the opposite of me, she likes flying...I hate it."

Bruno couldn't help but laugh.

"Understandable. I hate flying too." The Border Collie said, making Marshall smile.

"Anyway, gender aside, she's the girl in pink and is very cheerful. She's also brave. She once faced a eagle during our mission." The Dalmatian said, placing a plastic flower inside a flower pot.

"Brave."

"Hmmhmm. If you asked her, though, she'll probably tell you how terrifying the experience was, since it happened more than once." Marshall said, but there was a certain...tone in Marshall's voice that caught Bruno's attention. At first, the Collie didn't understand it, but when Marshall spoke the next few words, the Collie began to understand fully.

"Then...there's Chase. The leader of our group. The police pup. My best friend." With each word, Marshall's head lower and his ears began to fall. Bruno said nothing, but continue to watch Marshall's expression as the Dalmatian talked about Chase. "We've been friends for the longest, longer than the rest of the pups, which is the reason why we're so close. He was always there for me and had been by my side when we were growing up together. When it was just us, it felt...special, in some ways. Because we always had the best adventures, sometimes getting into trouble, and looked after each other."

"Sounds like a strong friendship bond between the two of you." Bruno commented. Marshall smiled sadly.

"We did, still do. Chase is an amazing friend. There were so many times where he'd protected me from getting hurt, I wish I could repay it." He said, kicking a rock over. "Chase is...special, to me. If I could do half the things he does for me, then maybe..." At that, Marshall cut himself off and blushed. Bruno raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe...?"

"Never mind, forget it. It's nothing." Marshall quickly denied, getting back to his work. Bruno paused for a moment, before speaking very slowly, and very clearly.

"It...it sounds like you're in love with your best friend." He said, and just as he expected, the words flew over Marshall's head as he agreed.

"Yeah, I am in love wit-" Marshall paused, eyes widen as he cheeks turned pink. He'd quickly turned around and narrowed his eyes at Bruno. "Where did you get such an assumption?"

"You. It's in your words, in your actions, that shows that you really care for Chase...more than a best friend should." Bruno said. Marshall paused, taking in everything that's been said, and the pink strip across his face blossomed.

"Oh," He said, sitting down. "But you're right. I...I have a crush on my best friend. But it's not like he'll return it anyway. He likes Skye, everyone knows it. Besides, he's been...acting weird around me lately. Maybe he'd caught on to my feelings." Marshall whimpered, trying his best to blink away the tears. Bruno walked over to him and placed a paw on his shoulder.

"There, there. It's alright. I'm sure that's not the case." Bruno said, but quietly thought to himself.

So, Sasha had been right all along. One pup was in denial and while the other would happily return their feelings, it wouldn't be possible if said one pup (a.k.a Chase) was still living in a black and white world where it was always Chase and Skye, and nobody else. And if that's the case, then Sasha's _other_ predictions were true, as well. The tension between the two was clear, but so long as Chase turns a blind's eye away from the possibility of falling in love with his friend, that tension was going to build and build and build until one side or another gives way.

No wonder she requested a five-week stay in Adventure Bay, pushing to maybe six.

"You're not going to tell anyone, are you? I haven't even told the rest of the PAW Patrol about me liking...other boys." Marshall whispered, whimpering slightly. Bruno just smiled.

"Your secret's safe with me."

"Marshall? There you here. Come on, we have to go. Farmer Al's pigs got loose again." Rocky said. Marshall nodded before looking back at Bruno.

"Thanks, uh..."

"Bruno."

"Thanks for listening Bruno. Hope we'll talk again soon." With that, the pups ran off to their respective vehicles, and drove away from the movie set. Bruno sighed, shaking his head.

"Oh Sasha. Look where your crazy fortune telling got us this time."


	9. Chapter 9

"That's the last of them." Farmer Al said, locking the gate behind the smallest piglet, who looked up with a smile. "Thanks again, Ryder. Thanks pups."

"No problem Farmer Al. Whenever there's trouble, just yelp for help!" Ryder said, to which all the pups howled in agreement, until Marshall began to stand on his hurt paw and flinch.

"Ow!"

"You okay Marshall?" Rocky asked, but Marshall just whimpered.

"I think you've been on that paw long enough. Let's go home, and Marshall, _rest_ please." Ryder said, causing the Dalmatian to sigh.

"Okay Ryder." He said, turning to his vehicle and got in. The others waved Farmer Al goodbye before heading towards the lookout, now that their work is done.

* * *

"You mean, we get to be in a movie?! Really?!" Rubble asked, looking up at Ryder with excitement.

"That's totally awesome!" Zuma cheered as Rocky nodded his head.

"I mean, the decision is up to you guys. I don't want to push anyone to do something they aren't comfortable with." Ryder said, but nearly all the pups knew who he was referring to. Rubble whimpered, ears slightly falling flat.

"Yeah...It's not going to be fun if not everyone is going to enjoy it." He said.

"Oh well." Rocky said and Skye just sighed.

Meanwhile, overhearing the conversation, Marshall looked at the pups with a disappointed frown on his face.

"You guys," He started, catching the attention of the others and Ryder. "You don't have to feel bad about not joining the set, all because of me. You can. I'm not stopping you."

"Really?! But...what about you Marshall?" Rubble asked, and Marshall shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but...I don't want you guys to sacrifice having fun all because of my shy nature. I don't want you to feel like I'm the reason you're holding back. Please, enjoy yourself." Marshall said.

"If that's what you want..." Ryder said as the other pups cheered.

"Thanks Marshall!" Rubble said.

"Yeah, thanks dude!" Zuma said and with that, the others ran outside to play, all the while, discussing about what life must be like behind the scenes. Meanwhile, watching all of this from the far back, was Chase. He'd noted the other pups reaction, and to his shock, he felt angry at the others. It seemed like they were all blaming Marshall for something that wasn't his fault, and as soon as Marshall gave them the okay, _none_ of them ever stopped to think about how the Dalmatian might've felt when just about everyone knew about his stage fright.

Surprisingly, the action had nearly called out a nature that Chase knew he had, but never noticed since training to become a police pup - his protective defensive nature. More so, it surprise the German Shepherd that he was reacting _more_ defensively with Marshall than he did with anyone else, including Skye.

The notion was terrifying to say the least.

 _No, I like Skye. Just because I'm overprotective of my best friend doesn't mean anything. I AM a German Shepherd after all, it's in my nature to be protective of things. It has nothing to do with my feelings for Marshall._ Chase thought, before shaking his head and noticed Marshall looking at him.

"What?" He asked. Marshall blinked before his face turned red, albeit ashamed at being caught staring. _Weird._

"It's nothing." Marshall stumbled out, before continuing. "Um, Chase? You...you don't feel bad because of me...right?"

Chase blinked, titling his head in confusion.

"Feel...bad?"

Marshall blushed.

"About...my stage fright. You're not going to hold it against me, right?" _Oh, he's talking about the movie thing._ Chase thought and shook his head.

"I'm not. Quite honestly, I don't care much for movies." He said, resting his head on the pillow below him. Marshall grinned cheekily.

"I can see that." He said and Chase chuckled. Silence reign over them as the two pups watched the television, of a show that neither of them could care less about, but because Apollo isn't on, it was the only show they could stand. At the least it has other dogs in it, which was a plus for them. "Hey Chase?"

"Hmm?" Chase's ear twitch, glancing at Marshall out of the corner of his eye.

"...Thanks for being a good friend to me." The Dalmatian muttered, looking at Chase through his eyelashes with small smile, showing off the dimples nobody even knew he had, including Chase. Chase stared.

 _How come I've never notice the dimples when Marshall smiles?_ He thought. _Or how his eyes seems to just...sparkle...whenever he's happy? And now that I mention it, is it me or did Marshall's eyes become darker? They were always light blue, at least, I think so. And I think he grew more spots too. They're kind of...lovely, looking at them now. Black spots against the normally white skin...it seems to just build...character, when it comes to Marshall. I think it makes the red in his suit and pup pack stand out, as well as his yellow collar. How come I've never notice...just how...beautiful...Marshall was?_

"Um, Chase?" Chase blinked and when he came to, he'd notice just how red Marshall's face was. "You've been staring at me for a while. Is something wrong?"

At that, Chase's face turned red as well. _Oh my god,_ he thought, horrified. _Was I just checking out my best friend?!_

"O-oh, um, sorry. Thanks Marshall." Chase coughed. "Anyway, I think I'll be going now. See ya later!" With that, Chase began running out the door. Marshall watched him go, blinking in surprise.

"See...you." Marshall ended lamely. _What the heck was that about?_

* * *

Chase was running. He had no idea where he was going, and ignored the others calling for him. He just ran with no destination in mind, as if something had spooked him and was trailing after him.

The others watched in concern.

"Chase! Wait!" Rubble shouted, but Chase was far too gone to hear him.

"I'll talk to him, stay here." Skye said. "Ruff, ruff! Wings!" And with that, Skye blasted off to trail after Chase. The others watched, the concern growing.

"Whoa, what happened?" Zuma asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going inside. Chase was last seen with Marshall, so I hope everything is alright." Rocky said, going into the lookout. Zuma and Rubble looked at each other.

"Is it just me or has Chase been acting weird lately?" Zuma asked. Rubble shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but I hope everything is okay." He said.

"Yeah. Come on, let's play ball." Zuma said, walking towards the tennis ball he and Rocky had been playing with earlier. Rubble followed, but paused before looking back at the direction where Chase was running.

"Be safe guys."


	10. Chapter 10

When Rocky entered the lookout, he spotted Marshall watching T.V.

"Hey Marshall." He said, making his way over to the Dalmatian. Marshall looked up from the T.V and smiled at Rocky.

"Oh, hey Rocky. I thought you and the others were playing outside." He said.

"We were, but..." Rocky bit his lip. This didn't go unnoticed by Marshall, who turned his attention to the mix-breed fully.

"But...?"

"But Chase came out, looking as though something spooked him. Since you were the last person to see him, I was wondering what happen?" Rocky asked, peering up at the Dalmatian. Marshall blinked.

"I'm wondering that myself. We were talking for a minute or so before Chase totally spaced out on me, and when I called his name, he just...left. Why, what happened?" Marshall asked, concern overflowing in his eyes and in the tone of his voice. Rocky shook his head.

"He...he ran away. Rubble tried to call out to him, but he ran so far away. Skye is going to talk to him now." Rocky said. For a minute, Marshall didn't say anything, before he let out a quiet 'oh' and turned to face the T.V. Rocky wanted to talk more, but for a long time, he didn't know what to say. When he finally gathered his thoughts, Rocky took a deep breath. "I've noticed you and Chase has been...acting weird around each other lately. Is...something wrong?"

Marshall tensed, and Rocky could sense it. With a small whimper, he'd said: "You can tell me, Marshall. We're buddies, remember?"

Marshall sighed.

"Okay, but you can't tell the others. Promise?" Marshall said, giving Rocky a stern glare.

"Promise." Rocky said, making Marshall sigh again.

"Okay, well...it's just..." Marshall bit his lip, blushing lightly. "I have a crush on Chase. I been had it since, I guess, the Fall Festival. I hadn't noticed it before, but Chase...Chase is beautiful, inside and out. He's so kind and helpful, and determined too. Brave, and smart, and since he's been my best friend from the start, I have always admired him because he possessed some traits that I could only wish I had. He's been a loyal friend to me, sticking by my side through thick and thin, and it's just now...I want something more than just friendship from him." Marshall whimpered. "Please don't hate me."

"Hate you? Why would I hate you?" Rocky asked, both curiosity and concern.

"Because Chase is a guy and it's not right." Marshall said, but Rocky shook his head.

"So? It doesn't mean I don't like you any less. You're my friend, Marshall, I can't hate you and I don't care who you be with, male or female. If there's any problem with the rest of the pups, just know that at least _I_ got your back." Rocky said, patting Marshall on the back. Marshall smiled.

"Thanks Rocky."

"No problem. And besides, how can I possibly hate you...when I have a crush on a male pup myself..." Rocky said, blushing as Marshall stared at him.

"Really Rocky? Who? I mean, if you don't mind me asking..." Marshall said. Rocky shook his head again, the blush on his face growing even worse.

"I-it's Zuma..." Rocky whispered to which Marshall gasp out loud.

"Zuma? Really?" Rocky nodded. "Aww, you two would make such a good pair!"

Rocky blushed as he hid his face.

"I don't think so. Lately, he's been spending time with Skye, so I doubt he'll notice." He muffled into a pillow, but Marshall could hear him well and frowned. _So, he has problems with the flying pup too? And come to think of it, Skye HAS been hanging around with Zuma an awful lot lately. And if not him, then Rubble._ He thought.

"Well...yeah, but that doesn't mean Zuma has romantic feelings for her. For all we know, he _could_ possibly be interested in you?" Marshall said, wiggling an eyebrow suggestively, which made Rocky laugh.

"Oh god, don't get my hopes up." He sighed. "I don't know. Zuma never really showed interest in anybody, so it's possible he may not _have_ any sort of romantic interest. Which is heartbreaking, to me, at least."

"You know what I think? I think you should tell him." Marshall said, causing Rocky to raise an eyebrow.

"How ironic, coming from you. Anyway, why are you so pushy with Zuma and I anyway? Knowing your own romantic problems." Rocky asked, causing Marshall to blush and look shyly down at the ground.

"I just want you to be happy. Somewhere, in my gut, something's telling me that Zuma really does care about you, Rocky, more than you know. If I don't get my happy ending, at least you get yours." Marshall said, and Rocky frowned.

"Why...why do you think you won't get your happy ending Marshall?" Rocky asked and Marshall tensed again, looking down at the ground. Rocky could see the sadness and the hurt swimming in those beautiful blues, and Rocky had to wonder just how bad was Marshall's self-esteem.

"Because...because..." Marshall whimpered, tears starting to build in his eyes. "Because I'm scared, okay?"

"Scared? Scared of rejection?" Rocky asked. It made sense, after all. Normally, when going through a crushing stage, you usually think about the negative outcomes than you do the positive, and since Rocky has a crush of his own, he definitely knew where Marshall was coming from.

"More than that. I'm scared...of _Chase._ " The small whine hidden behind the name was alarming to Rocky, and to his shock, the pup, usually so cheerful and bright, looked small and weak and _vulnerable_ that it nearly broke his heart.

"Chase? Why are you scared of Chase? You said you're his best friend, so if anyone knows him better, it should be you."

"Exactly! I _do_ know him! It's just..." Marshall whined again, the tears continued to fall. "Have you ever seen Chase angry before?"

"Hmm...can't say I have. Why?" Rocky asked, and almost immediately, a thought occurred to him. _Dumb question._ Marshall continued to whimper and whine, hiding his head as more and more tears started to come.

"It's just...it's...it's... _I know."_ Marshall sobbed, not even bothering to hide the meltdown anymore. "I know what he's like when he's angry! I know! It's not a pretty sight a-and..."

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Rocky said, wrapping his front leg around Marshall's shoulder. "It can't be that bad."

"It _is!"_ Marshall whined. "He's just so... _scary_ and _mean_ when he's mad. I know it's hard to believe that, but there's a reason you don't make Chase mad and I..." He hiccupped, but Rocky filled in the blanks.

"Marshall...has Chase ever gotten angry at you before?" He asked and he could feel Marshall nodding his head as his sniffled.

"Yeah, when it was just me, Ryder, and Chase. I had accidentally broken his favorite toy." The Dalmatian said, shivering when he'd remembered the look Chase gave him when he'd found out. "There was so much _hatred_ in his eyes, and for a moment, I thought..."

"What?"

"I thought he was going to kill me," Marshall whimpered, remember how every time Marshall tried to apologize or even talk to him, Chase would bare his teeth before walking away from the Dalmatian. "I thought he would hate me forever..."

"What changed?"

"The first time I got into trouble, in the woods of Adventure Bay. During the time Chase decided he hated me, Chase and Ryder had gotten pretty close. So close, in fact, that I started to feel like a third wheel, even though Ryder was _my_ owner. So...I ran away." Marshall sniffled. "I went into the woods, but at the time, I didn't know how dangerous they were. There were wolves in there."

"Were?"

"They had eventually moved somewhere else." Marshall said. "Anyway, I had made a mistake and bumped into one. If I thought Chase was going to kill me, then his look was _nothing_ like the wolves. They wanted me dead."

Rocky shivered.

"So I ran as fast I could, with three or four wolves after me. I was so scared. I thought I was going to die, with the only thoughts of how my best friend hates me for breaking his toy and how Ryder would easily replace me with said best friend. It...it broke my heart. I thought neither of them cared...but..." Marshall gave out a small smile, tears still falling from his face. "But...Chase...Chase somehow found me and saved me. It was at that moment that I knew...Chase didn't hate me."

Marshall remembered Chase screaming at him for being stupid, for going off on his own, and how worried he made both him and Ryder when he'd smelled the wolves. He remembered the worry and fear in Chase's amber eyes, smelled how anxious the German Shepherd was, and despite how furious he was with Marshall, was glad he was safe and home with both him and Ryder.

"B-but, I never forgot the look in his eyes when I told him about his toy. He wanted to tear me to pieces with his own claws and teeth." Marshall finished, looking at the ground. "It was the look I'd always feared...and the reason I can't tell him about my feelings. He's stubborn as it is...I cannot imagine him being stubborn _and_ angry at the same time."

Rocky was silent, not knowing what to say.

"I...I'm sorry." Rocky said, but Marshall shook his head.

"Don't be. Besides, he likes Skye. You know it. I know it. It wouldn't make a difference if I'd confessed anyway..." He said, looking at the T.V. Rocky watched Marshall in concern before a determine look fell upon his face as he walked out of the lookout.

He needed answers and he needs them now.


	11. Chapter 11

When Chase finally stopped, he found himself on top of a very large hill, with a view of the whole town of Adventure Bay. The German Shepherd panted, staring down at the Island. _What's wrong with me? Why did I have those thoughts of Marshall?_ He thought. So lost in his emotions, he didn't hear Skye calling for him until she got closer and landed on the ground next to him.

"Chase!" She panted. "I've been calling you since you'd left the lookout! What's wrong?"

At this, Chase felt a bit embarrassed and ashamed. _What am I suppose to tell her? I've been having weird thoughts about Marshall, of all people, and they kind of freaked me out because I'm suppose to be in love with you? That I AM in love with you._ He thought, and the more it echoed in his mind, the feeling of unjustified anger build in his chest.

"I," He started, but was loss for words. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you...or the rest of the pups."

Skye just looked at him, worry shining in her pink eyes.

"Chase," She started, moving closer to him and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Chase when you'd left, you gotten us all worried."

"I know and I'm sorry." Chase said, looking at the ground. "I won't do it again, I promise."

"Just tell us what's wrong. Tell _me_ at least." Skye said and Chase gulped. _What am I suppose to say? How would you take if...if you knew about my feelings?_ He thought.

"I'm just..." Chase paused, trying to find the right word for his feelings. "Confused. Everything I thought I knew, I don't. And it's making me feel," _Weird? Confused? Angry? Which one is it?_ "I don't know...how I'm feeling."

Skye continued to look at him with concern, yet loving, eyes.

"It's okay, Chase. You'll figure it out. I know you will." She gave him a small smile, looking up at him through her lashes. "You're a leader for a reason."

That comment made Chase blush, for some reason. Before Chase could respond, Skye went up and nuzzled him, causing Chase to hesitate, just a little as his face turned red once more. Suddenly, Chase found himself relaxing, and started to breath in her scent. _This,_ he thought. _This is right. This is what I love about Skye. She's perfect for me._ When they broke away, Skye smiled at him.

"Let's go home." She said. Chase nodded mutely and began to follow the smallest pup in the group back to the lookout. _There's nothing wrong with me. I love Skye, not Marshall. This proves it._ He thought, but there was something tugging in the back of his mind, but Chase choose to ignore it.

It was probably nothing important anyway.

* * *

When Skye and Chase came back, they saw Rocky standing near the door. When the recycle pup spotted the two, he ran over to them.

"Chase! You're okay!" He said. Chase smiled.

"Yeah...sorry if I worried you. I just needed to clear my head, I guess." He said. Rocky merely raised an eyebrow before looking over at Skye, who shrugged.

"Hey, is it okay if I talk to Skye for a little while Chase?" Rocky asked. Chase shrugged.

"Don't see why you're asking me this, but sure. I'm going to play tug-of-war with Rubble." With that, Chase began running over to where Zuma and Rubble were. That's when Skye looked at Rocky.

"Soooo...what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked.

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything," Rocky started. "But...how do you feel about Chase?"

Skye blinked, confusion written on her face.

"Feel about Chase? I think he's an awesome friend! Why?" Skye asked, tilting her head to the side. Rocky bit his lip and shook his head.

"It's nothing, just...is there anybody you like? Just curious is all!" Rocky said, seeing the look Skye was giving him.

"Well..." She started, eyes rolling, as a light blush ran across her face. "There is someone," _I knew it, it's Zuma._ Rocky thought, bitterly. The thought had made him sour, almost to the point where he'd nearly missed what Skye was saying. "Course, he's a little too young to be having those thoughts, but.."

"Wait, young?" Rocky blinked, causing Skye to blush.

"Yeah..."

Rocky could feel the gears in his head turning.

Just about everyone in the group was around the same age, kind of. It was hard to tell given by their height, and even more so when both the pups and the people had found out that nearly all of them were at least a month apart. When they began to discuss their age, the order went something like this...

Chase, born in November (12).

Marshall, born in mid December (20).

Zuma, born in July (31).

Rocky, born in late August (30)

Skye, born in April (13)

Rubble, born in September (9)

And then Everest, born in, oddly enough, February (10)

And sure, looking at the list, it seems incorrect, 'til you find out their birth year, in which case, it would make a lot of sense then. The point was though, that the only two youngest were Rubble and Everest and considering the fact that Skye had said he...

"Rubble? You have a crush on Rubble?" Rocky asked. Skye blushed a bit.

"Yeah. It's not weird, is it?" She asked, an uncertain tone in her voice. Rocky shook his head.

"No just...surprise, I guess. I thought you liked Chase." He said. _Or Zuma._ He thought, still kind of bitter at the thought of Skye liking Zuma. The pretty pup shook her head and gave him a soft smile.

"No, he's just a good friend." She said, and before Rocky could say anything, Skye began to walk away, leaving the mix-breed to his thoughts.

 _Oh dear,_ he thought. _This probably won't end too well if Chase finds out._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: I know the pup's birth dates are all wrong and stuff, but to me, I like to think the months I'd placed them with fits their character. (With the exception of Chase, because I was just going by the date of the episode, and not an actual date. But Chase has always strike me as a November dog, so why not?)


	12. Chapter 12

A week has passed since Chase's running away incident, and since then, the tension between the pups that hadn't been there before was slowly building. Playing wasn't playing anymore, most of the time, the majority of the pups kept to themselves. Ryder had noticed and was worried that something must've happened. They never really told the ten year about the incident, either, so understandably, Ryder was just as confused as the rest of the pups, who didn't know where or when the tension had started.

What never changed, though, was the excitement of being part of the movie nearly all of them were happy about. Before that, though, it was about time for Marshall to be back on his feet - all four of them - so Ryder had decided to let Katie check to see if that was okay.

"Hmm, looks good," She mumbled, looking down at the scar on Marshall's paw. The scar looked tender, pinkish, but nevertheless, completely healed. "No infections, no discolored pus. I think Marshall's ready to go, Ryder." The blonde looked up at the ten year old, smiling as the rest of the pups cheered.

"Great! You hear that Marshall? You're going to be back on your feet." Ryder said.

"Finally, I was getting just a bit annoyed of sitting here with nothing to do." Marshall teased, causing the group to laugh. Moments like these were rare these days, with Rocky knowing Marshall's secret and Chase acting weird, along with Skye who, despite her smiles, seemed nervous for some reason. It seemed to Marshall that this was sort of testing fate, the Dalmatian mused. Nobody knew what one person knew and that in turn made the rest of the pups anxious, nervous, and alerted. It reminded him of chess, for some reason.

"Now that you're all better, we should probably head towards the movie set and let them know about you guys joining." Ryder said. That's when Rubble thought of something and turned to Marshall.

"Hey Marshall? Did you figure out what you're going to do now?" He asked. Marshall looked at him for a bit before peering up at the sky.

"I decided I'll sit this one out. You guys have fun though. I'm sure you're all great actors." He said, but without even realizing it, had sent a double meaning behind those words. Chase and Skye had picked it up right away and looked at each other with confusion on their face, both thinking the same thing.

Marshall's tone just sounded... _dark_ for some reason. It made both the German Shepherd and Cockapoo's squirm at the thought, because it contradicts everything they knew about Marshall, and Marshall _usually_ isn't the type of pup that let's something as small and insignificant as movie get the best of him. _But how much do you really know about Marshall? Marshall has shown signs of low self-esteem before. Remember the play? Remember the talent show? The basketball game?_ Skye thought to herself, but Chase's thoughts were different.

 _Does he know? Does he know how I feel about him? Oh god, please..._ Chase bit his lip. For some reason, he felt... _guilty._ There was no other way to describe it. It may not sound like an accusing tone, but yet it felt like one and Chase had to really stop and think. _No. He doesn't know. And even if he did, there's no reason to feel bad about it. I love Skye, I have proven it and this silly attraction to my best friend is nothing more but annoyance. I will NOT feel ashamed for my feelings, I don't need to apologize for anything that wasn't true._

"What are we waiting for? Let's go to the set!"

* * *

When they arrived on scene, Ryder and the pups found themselves inside the forest, where another scene was taking place.

"Now Crystal, you _know_ you weren't suppose to chase after the rabbits _before_ Bruno and Amanda arrived." Rachael huffed, giving the white cat an evil eye. Crystal just huffed and gave Rachael one right back before striding away. The women rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Hello Rachael." Ryder said, causing the director to turn around and smile.

"Ryder! Hey! So, what do you think about my offer?" She asked, grinning widely. Ryder looked down at the pups and smiled.

"Everyone except Marshall has agreed to join you." Ryder said, causing everyone to cheer as Rachael frowned.

"Aww, that's too bad. Well, if you change your mind Marshall, you know where we are most of the time. The rest of you, let's get you ready for your big performance!" She said, and with a yelp and yip and a howl, everyone with the exception of Marshall began to follow Rachael as she began to explain their parts. Marshall watched them go, albeit longingly, just as a certain French Poodle appeared behind him.

"I would not worry too much about the German Shepherd, Little One." She said, causing Marshall to jump as he looked back at her.

"W-who are you?" Sasha gave him a gentle smile.

"I am Sasha. Who are chu?" She asked, but Marshall had a feeling she already knew.

"It's Marshall. Wait, what did you say about Chase?" He asked, suddenly feeling defensive. Sasha just smiled at him and it was then, Marshall knew that Sasha meant no harm.

"Chu are worried. Mostly about him." She said, causing Marshall to blush. _Is it really that obvious?_ He thought. "Do not fret, Little One. One day, he will see chu for who chu really are, and then..." The smile on Sasha's face grew as did a little sparkle in her eyes. "Magic. Magic will happen."

"...You're talking about my crush, aren't you?" Marshall asked, giving Sasha a blank stare. Sasha just grinned.

"Chu could say that."

"How did you even know? Am I really that obvious?" The Dalmatian demanded.

"No more than he is with chu, but that is not my side to tell." Sasha said, before getting up walking away from Marshall. "How this story ends, is up to the German Shepherd. I can help, but he does not want it...not until he has nowhere to go." With that, Sasha disappeared from sight, leaving Marshall just a little confused and a bit upset.

"A dog that speaks riddles? Now I saw everything." Marshall commented. He heard a scoff somewhere behind him and turned to see Crystal standing there, rolling her eyes. Marshall hesitated before giving the cat a shy smile. "Hi."

Crystal glared at him before walking away too, making Marshall sighed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rocky himself had been walking along the trail, with his little booklet of lines in his mouth, when he spotted the French Poodle. The Poodle turned to look at him and smile.

"Chu must be Rocky. I have heard a lot about you." She said just as Rocky sat down near her.

"Oh? Good things, I hope." He said, causing Sasha to chuckle.

"They are." Then Sasha spoke with a gentle, yet firm voice. "Rocky...do chu understand what's going on with Chase and Marshall?"

The mix-breed blinked in surprise at such a question, before nodding his head, unsure.

"I...I think so," Rocky. "But...I feel so bad for Marshall. Chase loves Skye, so-"

"That is what he tells himself."

Rocky blinked.

"What?"

"Chase is in denial. A very bad one, and one that could potentially ruin one of the greatest friendship he's ever had. Recently, it seems Chase's crumbling resolve has strengthen, and it's only going to get worse the more he denies his feelings for his best friend." Sasha said, causing Rocky's eyes to go wide.

"C-Chase has feelings for...?"

Sasha nodded, and Rocky blinked.

"I...wow...I...never thought...how long?"

"They only just start appearing, but Chase, being the stubborn Shepherd that he is, quickly denies everything that seems true." Sasha said and Rocky was silent for a good while.

"Why...why are you telling me this? For what purpose?"

"I am telling chu," Sasha started. "Because it is _chu_ that will help them be together. Chu play as much as a role in this as I do - but I must warn chu, _everyone_ will hurt, whether they like it or not. _Especially_ Marshall. I tell chu this, because I don't want chu to feel guilt over something that's going to happen, naturally."

"If everyone hurts, then why would I help you?" Rocky asked, giving Sasha a suspicious look.

"They will hurt, regardless of what chu or I do. We are just characters in someone else's story. But if chu help me, maybe I can make the pain a little easier to swallow." Sasha said. Rocky seemed uncertain, not knowing if he should trust Sasha or not.

"Make the pain easier, huh? What do I have to do?" Rocky asked. Sasha just smiled.

"Follow me and I will tell chu. By the way, do not be afraid of telling _your_ crush how you feel. It may not seem like it, but he really does care and love you." The French Poodle said, setting Rocky's face aflame.

_How do you know these things?!_


	13. Chapter 13

As the day began to pass, the pups were starting to feel the stress of being a movie actor.

"Cut! That's a wrap everyone, good job! We'll take a break and afterwards, move down the beach area and start scene 5 from there." Rachael said, writing something down on a notepad before walking away. The rest of the crew breathed a heavy sigh, most of them walking away from the scene.

"Wow, who knew how much stress it was to act?" Rubble asked, falling flat on his stomach.

"Yeah, but you know what? It was fun. I like the part where you have to protect Amanda so she can get to the city, Rubble. I think it suits you." Rocky said, causing Rubble to grin.

"I like the idea of being a spy, even if I was the bad guy." Chase said, shrugging his shoulders.

"What do you think Marshall?" Skye asked, looking over at the Dalmatian, who seem to be lost in his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh. You guys did great!" Marshall said, giving the rest of the pups a smile. Despite that, though, both Skye and Chase knew something was wrong and before they could figure it out, Everest came up to them.

"Hey guys, how's your parts coming along?" She asked.

"Great! We've just finished the confrontation, so now we're going to have to do the chase-on-foot scene." Skye said. Everest smiled.

"Good to hear!"

"So Everest, I've noticed you and Bruno seems to be getting along quite well," The flying pup said, causing Everest to blush and look down at the ground. "You must really like him."

"Y-yeah, he's great. I'm surprise how our roles seems to interact with each other, though. Like it was deliberately set up to be that way." Everest said, a frown appearing on her face as her suspicious started to raise.

"Well, considering what the movie is about, I'm not too surprise. It seems there's a romantic interest between the good spy and the bad spy." Marshall said. "Humans always seem to go down that route. I'll never understand why."

"Because it creates conflict!" A voice said, and pups turned to see Rachael walking over to them with a smile on her face. "Think about it this way - you fine yourself loving a person you can't be with, because of different opinions and morals. Because of that, it stirs up some drama, because now there's a emotional battle as well as a physical. You don't want to hurt them, but you know you've been told is the truth about them - or so it seems. _That's_ why good/bad guy relationships are so popular. It creates conflict and drama, so many people uses it a lot."

"Drama, huh? Never thought of that." Marshall said. Rachael just smiled before turning to Chase and Skye.

"Chase, Skye, mind if I talk with you guys for a little bit? It's about your scripts. I want to make changes, but I'll need your approval first." She said. Both the German Shepherd and Cockapoo nodded, walking along with Rachael. Something twisted in Marshall's gut, but the Dalmatian chose to ignore it. _It's probably some small changes, nothing too bad._ He thought.

"Hey Marshall, can we talk for a minute?" Rocky asked out of the blue. Confused, Marshall nodded and followed Rocky towards the edge of the forest, leaving Rubble, Zuma and Everest behind.

"Hey, Everest? Do you feel something strange going on?" Rubble asked and the Husky nodded.

"Yeah, the anxiety is rolling off you guys in waves. What happened?" She asked, concern in her blue eyes.

"We don't know! It started after Chase went off by himself, for whatever reason. He wouldn't tell us!" Rubble said, whimpering a little. Everest sucked her teeth, before patting the young pup on the back. "I don't understand. The tension wasn't here before...why now?"

Neither of the pups could answer him.

* * *

"NO WAY!"

Rocky flinched at the tone of Marshall's voice, who scared just about ten or eleven birds from their nest. He looked up to see the Dalmatian glaring at him, the blue eyes that were normally so kind, heated in anger.

"Why would I _ever_ tell Chase how I felt about him?! Did you _not_ hear me the first time?!" Marshall yelled, bristling. The anger that was rolling off of Marshall was very intense, causing what little fur Marshall has to stand on ends.

"Just hear me out, okay? Please..." Rocky whimpered. Seeing the submissive look, Marshall's anger deflated, now he was looking at the mix-breed with concern yet resilient eyes.

"Rocky, you know why I can't...why would you ask me such a thing...?"

"B-because," Rocky stammered, not knowing any reason. "Because...because..." Marshall cocked his head to the side, the worry he was feeling began to bubble to the surface.

"Rocky?"

"Because that's what Sasha wanted you to do!" Rocky bumbled out, blushing brightly as Marshall tensed.

"What?"

"Sasha," Rocky gulped. "I had talked to Sasha, the black French Poodle. She told me to tell you that you should tell Chase how you'd felt."

"Really? And why would I?" Marshall asked, the skepticism colored in his tone.

"Because...he might feel the same way?" The way Rocky had said made Marshall believe he was hiding something, and the Dalmatian narrowed his eyes.

"Rocky..."

"Alright, look. You wanted me to tell Zuma how I'd felt about him? I'll do it, _provided_ you tell Chase how you felt about him." Rocky said, giving Marshall a no-nonsense glare. Marshall sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I will, but you owe me." Marshall said, heading back to the rest of the pups. Rocky sat there for a while and closed his eyes.

"What do I do now?"

"Now," Sasha said, coming from behind the bush. "Now, we wait for the explosion to come to us."

Rocky whimpered.

"Isn't it too soon?" He asked, looking at the Poodle before him. Sasha closed her eyes and hummed.

"Chu're in luck, sugar," She said, glancing at Rocky. "It seems our plans have just been put on hold."

* * *

When Rocky reached to the top of the forest where the rest of the pups are, he'd noticed the tension around them thickened. At first he was confused, but then he took a look at Marshall's face, and...

 _Wow,_ Marshall's face was blank. As in, no emotions that were usually shining through his eyes had suddenly evaporated. Then he looked over at the other pups and felt his heart drop.

Chase was smiling.

Skye was panicking.

Rubble looked devastated.

Zuma and Everest were both surprised and worried.

Rachael grinned.

"I'm glad you two decided the change was okay. Looks like we got our second pairing in the movie!"

Oh. No wonder Sasha was disappointed.


	14. Chapter 14

"How you would pups feel about a secondary main couple in the movie?" Rachael asked, looking down at the pups she'd pulled to the side. Skye eyes went wide as did Chase - for reasons entirely different.

 _Couple? Does she mean Chase and me? B-but, I don't..._ Skye was at a loss. It's not like Skye hadn't thought about Chase that way, she has, but eventually, when months turned in a year, Skye had dismiss the notion. Sure Chase was handsome, kind and sweet, but sometimes she felt like her being with Chase was wrong. Like she wasn't suppose to be with him, and in her heart, she knew why - her crush on Rubble.

Sure Rubble was young and inexperience, but Skye thought he was cute just the way he was. He always made her smile, and he was there for her even when nobody else was. Skye wasn't blind either, she knew Chase and Rubble had liked her as more than friends. She'd figured Chase was just shy is all and would eventually make his move, but never did. Thus, the flying pup got tired of waiting and moved on, to someone who _would_ return her feelings.

Rubble had tried so hard to get Skye to notice him in a way that Chase did with Skye. Even though Skye never batted an eyelash towards him - and Skye felt extremely guilty for that - he'd tried anyway. It was one of those traits that made Skye realized just how _lovable_ Rubble was, because the English Bulldog was determine and knew what he'd wanted, versus Chase, who seem hesitate and really unsure of how to approach Skye.

That, and Skye was pretty sure she was wrong pup for Chase anyway. Lately, Chase seemed more concern over Marshall than he did with her, and that's probably because Skye had proven, more than once, that she knew what was she doing when in the air or in the face of danger. Maybe he could finally stop fretting over her and realize that just as much as he worries over her, he should also worry about the rest of them and especially Marshall.

Meanwhile, Chase's thoughts were the exact opposite.

 _If me and Skye gets a part as a couple, then maybe this is what I need to prove that my feelings for Marshall is nothing!_ Chase thought with a grin on his face. To him, it was like a dream come true, because now, now he could prove to Sasha - and himself - that his feelings for Marshall are wrong, and that the correct thing for him was the pretty pup next to him. _So how come I don't feel excited as I should be?_

Chase shook his head.

"We'll do it." He said, surprising the two females beside him.

"Really?"

"WHAT?!" Skye shouted, causing the two to look at her. "Er, I mean...great..." She said, letting out a nervous chuckle. Rachael squealed, clapping her hands together.

"Come on, let's go tell everyone the good news!" She said, as she, Chase, and Skye walked back to the group. _Good news? What good news? This isn't good news!_ Skye thought just as they appeared on top of the hill, with Rubble, Zuma, Everest and the slow-approaching Marshall. For some odd reason, the Dalmatian looked tense, blushing, and just as he was about to open his mouth, Rachael cut him off. "Good news everyone! Both Chase and Skye had agreed to play the second main couple in the movie! Isn't that wonderful?!"

Silence.

No one made a peep, not even the birds. When Rocky manage to catch up with the rest of the pups, he looked around and saw some of their faces and winched when he'd came to Marshall's blank stare.

"I'm glad you two decided the change was okay. Looks like we got our second pairing in the movie!" Rachael said, before walking away. The tense silence between the pups was obvious and when Chase looked over at Marshall, the Dalmatian's face was hidden from view by his own helmet.

"Marshall? You okay bud?" Instead of answering, Marshall stood up and began walking away.

"I'm just gonna...go...I think Apollo is on or something." Rubble mumbled, getting up and walking in the opposite direction. Chase was confused as to why everyone was acting this way and looked over at Skye.

"Skye? I never asked you, but...are _you_ okay with the change?" Chase asked, looking at Skye with hopeful eyes. The flying pup hesitated, and found herself in a turmoil. _Oh Chase,_ she thought. _I don't know what to do now. Is his feelings returning? And if so..._

"I'm fine with it. Though, I'm not sure about everyone else." Skye muttered, glancing over to Rubble's direction before glancing back at the ground. Chase felt a heated glare aimed at him and when he turned his head around, he found Rocky staring at him. _Now Rocky too?_

"What?" He asked. Rocky just shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing, man. Just...continue living in your fantasy world." He said, but by the tone of his voice, Chase knew he was hiding something and glared at the mix-breed.

"If you have something to say, say it Rocky." Chase growled, keeping his eyes firmly on the mix-breed. Rocky just sneered.

"You know she's right - you're not the only person you're hurting." He said and Chase tensed. For a moment, he didn't know why that sentence had set him off until he'd realized where he'd heard it from.

_Sasha._

"What did that mangy mutt say to you?" Chase asked, growling low in his throat. Rocky just shrugged his shoulders again, glancing at the German Shepherd away from him.

"It doesn't matter what she said to me, if you continue to play your game."

"Game?" Skye questioned, but went ignored.

"Whatever she said to you, is a lie. Don't believe her Rocky, you know better."

"Considering what I've seen and heard from another pup, I'm beginning to suspect _you're_ the liar here Chase. And your lies are not only hurting you." Rocky growled out. Chase began to bare his teeth, the growl in his chest becoming something of a thunderstorm as the hair on his body began to stand.

"Chase?" Skye whimpered, her ears falling flat against her head. Hearing this, Chase stopped and rushed over to her, nuzzling her in comfort.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He whispered, licking her forehead, causing her to blush. Rocky stared.

_Chase...who do you really want?_


	15. Chapter 15

As Marshall made his way to the lookout, he kept his head down, helmet still on his face and beneath it, showing no emotion. The usually happy and energetic pup was surprisingly graceful as he walked, which made the people around him both concern and amused. He didn't stop and chat with the people who were calling for him or even waved in his direction, he just continued to head straight, going by memory, instead of looking where he was going.

When he came to, knowing the lookout was empty - pups still down at the movie set, Ryder spending time around Katie, Marshall threw his helmet off in frustration, hurt, and anger. He'd immediately sank down to the ground, paws covering his face as he broke down in tears. For a moment, he was silent, before letting loose a shaky breath and started talking.

"It's bad enough Chase doesn't return my feelings," He started. "I know Chase doesn't. He likes Skye and has proven that time and time again. I should be use to the fact that Chase and Skye are usually almost always coincidentally paired off together. And, just for a moment, I thought I could actually _win_ his affections if one were to judge his actions for the past couple of days." Marshall removed his paws and placed them on the ground, a broken smile appearing on his tear-stained face. "For a moment, I thought we had something, even for a little while..."

He took another deep breath.

"And just when I was about to take Rocky's advice, whose advice had actually came from that French Poodle, fate decided it was going to mess with me even more and throw Chase and Skye back together for one last time. And then have me sit through that, just knowing how Chase feels about Skye, and Skye possibly returning those feelings. Are you KIDDING ME?!"

Marshall screamed as loud as he could, until his voice went raw, as more and more tears slip down his face.

He didn't care who heard him, and when he couldn't scream anymore, he let out heartbroken sobs, placing his face down on the ground. His body shook with the suppress sobs as he continued to cry, knowing his eyes would be red and puffy by the end of it, a headache already forming on the top of his skull. He didn't care.

It just... _hurts._

Hurts to know that Marshall's love would never be returned, hurts to know Chase would never look at him in the way he does with Skye, hurts to know that what should have been him, was somebody else.

Hurts to know he's been replaced.

"Why, why, why, why, WHY?!" He screamed again, the tears never stopping, his vision getting blurrier by the second. "Why her?! Why not me?! Why didn't you...why couldn't you...Why Chase?"

The sobbing and the heartbreaking tears continued, for what was seems like hours, until Marshall finally subdued, hiccupping as he wiped away the last bit of his tears. He now stared up at the sky, who seem to mock him because it was bright and sunny and nowhere near what Marshall was feeling currently.

"...I loved him first."

_"Hi."_

_Marshall, who had been chewing on his bone-shaped toy, paused and slowly turned to the other newest addition of their family - albeit, small one since the family had only consisted of him and his owner, Ryder._

_The German Shepherd stared back, out of curiosity and wonder, that of which reminded Marshall of a small pup. He eyed the bigger - that's right, for someone around his age, the pup was slightly bigger than him - pup wearily._

_"...Hi." He said, begrudgingly. The pup, going by the name of Chase, paid no mind to his tone and smiled, tail wagging even faster._

_"Wanna play?" He asked. Marshall stared at him for a bit before looking back at his toy bone._

_"Um, no thanks. I was kind of busy...chewing." Marshall said, lifting the bone up for emphasizes. Chase stopped wagging his tail, his ears lowering a bit._

_"But...isn't that boring? Come on, let's play together!" Chase said, jumping into a play position, looking at Marshall with excited eyes. The Dalmatian huffed and glared at the German Shepherd._

_"No thanks. I kind of...want to be alone." He said and Chase paused, a frown appearing on his face._

_"Alone? But-"_

_"Would you just leave me alone already?!" Marshall shouted, glaring at Chase. The slightly bigger pup whimpered, his ears falling flat as hurt flashed across his eyes. Seeing this, Marshall sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry."_

_"That's okay," Chase said before pausing. "But why are you so mean to me? Did I do something wrong?"_

_Marshall paused again, as guilt started to make its way into his chest._

_"No," He started. "No, you didn't do anything per say...but you're a Alpha male."_

_Chase cocked his head to the side, confused._

_"Alpha...male?" Marshall nodded._

_"Yeah, you're," The Dalmatian gulped, blinking away the tears. "You're the leader. You get to make the decisions most of the time."_

_"I thought that was Ryder?"_

_"Ryder is what we consider an Alpha," Marshall whispered, smiling sadly. "But if you exclude him, then the next person in line is you Chase."_

_"Oh," Chase said, shifting uncomfortably. "Does that make you feel uncomfortable? Did you wanted it to be you instead?"_

_"No, I already know my place." Marshall gasped, the tears slowly falling down his face. "I'm the Omega, the weak one. I am always last, for anything. Nobody else seems to care though." Except Ryder, which is why Marshall and Ryder's bond was as strong as it seems. "That's what my parents taught me."_

_Chase looked at him, pity in his eyes._

_"Hey," He said, causing Marshall to perk up. "I don't care about that. I don't care that I'm an Alpha or whatever, I think none of that matters when it comes to a personal relationship." Chase seemed hesitate, unsure as he spoke the next words. "But, I would like to be your friend, if that's okay."_

_Marshall blinked._

_"You? Want to be friends with me?" He sniffled, surprise. Chase just smiled._

_"Yeah. Besides, you're the only pup around my age. I'd be lonely if I have to play by myself." He said. Marshall grinned, his tail wagging slowly._

_"Alright. So long as you don't pull the 'I am the Alpha, you do what I say' card on me." He said, chuckling. Chase laughed._

_"Never!" He said, still laughing before a smirk began forming on his muzzle, and glint that Marshall could've sworn was dark and there, but went by too fast to even believe it was real. "And anyway, if I was a real Alpha, that would mean you're my Beta."_

_It was amazing just how fast Marshall's face went from white to red in under ten seconds._

_"B-beta? B-but, you ARE aware that Betas are usually female, because, you know, they can provide you with litters...right?" Marshall squeaked, looking as though he was having a meltdown. Chase shrugged his shoulders._

_"True, but I think you're pretty, and I like you. Besides, if nothing else, I want to prove how much I care - regardless of status." Chase said. Marshall just stared at the pup before him._

_"You're crazy." Marshall laughed, but inside, was giddy with butterflies._

_**He thinks I'm pretty.** _

Marshall sighed as the memory started to fade, wiping away his tears. His head was starting to hurt and his voice felt raw after all the screaming he did, but as he laid there on the cool concrete, feeling good on his skin, he stared up at the sky.

"Am I still your Beta Chase?"


	16. Chapter 16

"Cut! That's a wrap, good job everyone!" Rachael said, smiling at her crew.

The day was drawing to an end, and the pups were pretty proud of themselves of keeping it together, despite the circumstances. However, the scene of Marshall leaving and then Rocky getting angry had never left their minds, so while the crew started to call it a day, Zuma decided to go talk with the recycling pup.

Out of everyone, it seems Rocky's actions surprised the water pup the most; mostly because Rocky wasn't the type to get angry often. Sure, you can say that about lot of them - Marshall, Skye, Zuma, and Rocky mainly - but out of all them, Rocky seems the least bit angry, no matter what you do.

Marshall has his moments of being angry, not often, but just enough to make people see that, just because Marshall was friendly and happy and energetic, it didn't mean he was like that all the time. The same could be said about Skye, and generally, Zuma was too laid-back to care, so you'd really have to try to get under his skin. Rocky, though, has the patient of a saint, if Zuma actually thought about it. The dude never seemed the slightest bit of irritated, only waiting on people with a grace of a smile and kind understanding in his eyes.

In fact, the only ever time Zuma has ever seen Rocky angry is when he wasn't angry at all - just protective.

The pups were protective of a lot of things - their favorite toy, Ryder obviously, friends, treats, the list goes on - but the only thing that can set most of the pups off at the same time is when you mess with one of them.

They were friends, obviously, had been together since the majority were young, and knew what each pups limit were and tried to avoid them. They looked after each other, constantly worried for each other, and played with each other too. Sometimes one does something that irritates the other, and sometimes one, when really mad, stops speaking with another one day, but become buddies the next. This is their _pack,_ and nobody was going to mess with it. It went without saying that the pups love each other very much, and felt the need to protect each other - from the youngest to the oldest.

Everyone in Adventure Bay could see it, and it was the only time any of the pups would seriously hurt someone, no matter if Ryder approves of it or not.

 _You can't fight instincts._ Zuma thought as he made his way over to the recycling pup, who was sitting further away as the rest of the pups were busy talking among themselves.

"Wocky?"

Rocky was startled by the his voice and looked back to see Zuma standing behind him.

"Oh. Hey Zuma." He said, looking back at the ocean before him. Zuma titled his head to the side as he started walking, sitting down right next to Rocky.

"What's wrong dude? And don't tell me it's nothing, you're looking at the ocean for cwyin' out loud." Zuma said, causing both of the pups to laugh. Rocky sighed and shook his head, still looking out. When Zuma didn't get a response, he'd became worried. "Wocky? Could you at least tell me why you were so angry at Chase?"

"Not angry, just...disappointed." Rocky mumbled, now looking at the ground instead.

"Disappointed? Why? And what 'mangy mutt' was he talking about?" Zuma asked, but the pup in green shook his head.

"I can't say."

"Why not?" There was a slight disappointment and hurt hidden in Zuma's tone, and Rocky caught it, just barely. Rocky looked up and to his shock, Zuma looked as though he was close to tears. He flinched. _Darn it, Rocky,_ he thought to himself. _Don't hurt the pup! Just...try to make him understand..._

"It's," Rocky started, trying to find the right words to say. "It's a little...complicated...but I'm not keeping secrets from you, I promise!"

"Saying that, just means you are," Zuma sniffled, and Rocky flinched again. "You know, you've been quiet for the past couple of days, befowe this movie thing stawted, and now you're keeping secrets. What awen't you telling me Wocky?"

"Why do you care?" Rocky mumbled, finding himself getting irritable. "You're so busy with Skye, why do you care now?"

"You're my best fwiend," Zuma snapped, despite his tears. "Is it so wrong for me to care about you?"

"You haven't exactly been a 'best friend' to me now that you've found someone of the same interest of hobbies as you!" Rocky shouted, getting up and glaring at the Chocolate Lab, who'd returned the glare. "Whenever I ask you if you wanted to play, you're always so busy, and guess with who?!"

" _W_ _ecycling_ isn't playing Wocky," Zuma sneered. "It's a chore."

Rocky choked, blinking back the tears.

"Well, if you feel that way, then maybe you should stop hanging out with me." Rocky said and before Zuma could protest to that, the mix-breed was already running. Zuma sighed. _That was not what I was going for..._

* * *

Rocky didn't stop running until he came to an alleyway, a familiar one to him, and stopped there. His throat hurt as tears began to swell in his eyes, as he walked over to an old, ware down cardboard box that was too small for him now, but Rocky crawled into it anyway. When it was clear that nobody had followed him and that his face was completely hidden from view, the mix-breed started to cry.

He hadn't meant to hurt Zuma when he didn't tell him what's going on, it was just...

Rocky really _couldn't_ tell Zuma about the fight. He'd promised Marshall that he wouldn't let any of the other pups know about his secret, and Rocky had intended to keep it that way. He didn't want to betray Marshall's trust by blabbering to his best friend about something Rocky wasn't really sure was true or not.

That, and because Rocky also didn't want to tell Zuma about his feelings. For the same reason Marshall was scared of Chase's reaction, Rocky was terrified of Zuma's, and it hurt him to no end that his feelings were one-sided, much like Marshall's may be.

Sobbing, Rocky hadn't known that the Chocolate Lab he'd falling in love with had followed him and slowly lifting up the lid of the box he was in.

"Wocky?" Rocky froze, and despite his wishes, turned around, eyes wide and wet, to see Zuma behind him once again. The Chocolate Labrador winched when he'd saw the tears and sighed. "I didn't mean to make you cwy." He shook his head and lifted his other paw. "Come 'ere."

Rocky wanted to tell him no and to go away, but instead, let out a whimper as he crawled out of the box, and was suddenly pulled into Zuma's embrace. The action made Rocky's body froze entirely, a blush appearing on his face.

"I'm sowwy," Zuma said, still hugging Rocky. "I know it was wrong of me to pick on something you weally love to do. I should've known better. Sowwy Wocky."

"I-it's okay." Rocky sniffled, but Zuma shook his head.

"It's not, I made you cwy. I hate to see you cwy, and over something I'd stupidly did." Without even thinking about it, not hesitating in the slightest, Zuma licked Rocky's cheek and then placed a kiss on his muzzle, making the mix-breed blush. "For the wecord, Skye may be a nice gal to hang around with, but she's _nothing_ like you Wocky."

Rocky stammered, making Zuma smile slightly.

"I think you are adowable." He'd said, nuzzling his cheek, and Rocky continued to blush as red as he possibly can. "Come on, let's go home. The others may be wowwied."

Rocky didn't protest as he'd followed Zuma.

* * *

Meanwhile, the rest of the pups were already heading home and about time they got to the driveway, they saw Marshall laying on the ground, asleep.

"Aww, the guy must've been more tired than we thought." Skye said, looking at the Dalmatian.

"I'll take him to his pup house." Chase said, walking over to the limp body and began lifting him up to his back. It wasn't an easy task, but he'd manage to do so.

"Well, I think I'm going to take a nap. Acting is tiring." Rubble said, making Skye giggle. Chase ignored the two as he walked over to Marshall's fire trunk, now a pup house, and went in. As he slowly placed Marshall down, he couldn't help but notice something was off. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until a breeze came in and he'd smelt salt.

_Tears._

Chase blinked, looking down at the Dalmatian and noticed the fur around his eyes were damped and slightly matted. _Was Marshall crying?_ He thought, and then suddenly, a wave of panic washed over him. _Why was he crying? Who made him cry? Who dared to hurt **MY** Marshall?!_

You can almost hear the record being scratched in the background.

Chase blinked. He blinked again. And again. And again.

Suddenly, his eyes went wide and if it was possible, turned a nice shade of white, despite not seeing it.

 _W-wait, did I just said, in bold and capital letters, that Marshall was MINE?! What?!_ The German shepherd felt as though as he couldn't breath so he'd quickly ran out of the fire pup's house and stared out in the open.

"Oh boy..."


	17. Chapter 17

Chase sat on the swing, eyes still wide in shock, as he took the time to figure out his thoughts.

 _Okay,_ he thought. _Okay, this is getting creepy. I'm a German Shepherd, sure, and I'm also a dog, but this possessive thing I got going on...needs to stop._ Chase closed his eyes and let out a small whimper. _Is Sasha right this whole time? Have I really fallen for my best friend? But HOW can that BE? I have always loved Skye. Me being with her is like a dream true, so how come it's not and how come I get butterflies whenever I'm around Marshall? HOW did this happen?!_

The German Shepherd was confused...and scared.

_Feelings like these just don't come out of the blue! There must be something I'm missing..._

Chase sighed and open his eyes, looking at the pup houses.

 _I don't understand, somebody MAKE me understand._ Chase eyed the fire pup's house in particular, so helpless lost and confused and it bothered the German Shepherd. _Aren't I suppose to be the one who makes decisions and stuff? Shouldn't I know what I'm suppose to do? So how come I don't? How can I be a leader if I don't know what to do?!_ Chase closed his eyes again and suddenly, Skye's face with those beautiful loving eyes of hers appeared in his mind.

 _ **"You'll figure it out."**_ She had said to him, but that only made him whimper in response.

"I don't know...where am I suppose to go from here."

* * *

Meanwhile, Marshall open his eyes and let out a small, painful, groan. _My head..._ He moaned in his mind, slowly getting up to his feet. When the pain subdue, the fire pup realize he was in his fire house and was confused. _Huh. Could've sworn I was just outside. Maybe Ryder came by and carried me back to my pup house?_ He thought, blushing slightly. _How embarrassing._

Marshall shook his head and the door to his pup house slid open as he began to walk out. Almost immediately, he spotted Chase near the swing and for whatever reason, the pup looked sad, confused, and lost all at the same time. Seeing such a look on someone who was usually confident and in control made Marshall's heart squeeze. _The things you do to me Chase, and you're not even aware of it._ He thought as he walked over to the German Shepherd.

"Chase? You okay?" He asked, but to his shock, Chase didn't give an answer. So he tried again. "Chase?"

There was a low, warning growl that made Marshall pause and then suddenly fear gripped his throat. He can feel it crawl through his stomach, slowly making its way to his vocals, and the urge to run away was steadily growing. _No, Chase needs my help. I think. I can't run away!_ He thought and so, he asked again, reaching out a paw.

"Chase?" Before the paw could even touch him, Chase moved away, growling louder, as he glared at the Dalmatian.

"Don't touch me!" He snarled, eyes never leaving the hurt and confused Dalmatian. Marshall cocked his head to the side, the fear growing, and not even sure if what he's doing is even worth it anymore.

"Chase...I just want to help-"

"You can't help me! No one can, and especially _not_ you!" Chase shouted, still glaring at Marshall. Seeing those amber eyes Marshall loved the very most about Chase, glow in nothing but hatred, made Marshall feel small - made him feel like he did when Chase had found out about his toy.

"W-why not? W-what did I do wrong?"

" _Everything!"_ Chase screeched, making the rest of the pups come out and crowd around them in concern. "Everything that's happening is because of you and I _don't need your help!"_

The tears were starting to fall before Marshall could even stop it. Seeing the deeply hurt look and the tears, the rest of the pups glared at Chase.

"Chase!" Skye said.

"Not cool dude." Zuma growled, with Rocky glaring at the German Shepherd.

"You can't talk to our buddy like this!" Rubble shouted, ready to defend Marshall with everything he got.

The two pups paid no mind to the others, only having a stare-off, one in heartbreak and other...well, the best way to describe it would be confused anger.

"Chase, I," Marshall stopped himself, trying to catch his breath. The tears wouldn't stop coming, and his heart wouldn't stop hurting, and the Dalmatian felt as though he was going throw up with the amount of crying he's doing. "I'm sorry. For whatever I did, I am so, so, so very sorry."

_"I hate you."_

Skye, Zuma, Rocky, Rubble, and Marshall gasped, Marshall more hurt than anyone.

The Dalmatian couldn't take it - he'd ran away from the group, his tears left in his wake. The others tried to call him back, but when the Dalmatian didn't turn around, the others glared at Chase.

"Nice going." Zuma started, looking unimpressed.

"I can't believe you Chase! You made Marshall cry! Why?!" Rubble shouted, ignoring his own tears as he glared hate at Chase. Rocky let out a silent snarl.

"How long do you plan on keeping this up? 'til you convince yourself that what you're feeling is only a dream? And along the way, hurt the very person you care most about?" Rocky asked, before getting up. "I'm telling Ryder."

As three males left, Skye simply stared at Chase, who began to choke under her less-than-happy stare.

"Skye..."

"I can't believe you, Chase," She started. "You _know_ how sensitive Marshall is, and you...you...god, what were you thinking?!"

"I LOVE YOU!" Chase screamed, startling Skye. "I love you...always have...I...I...just...It can't be Marshall."

Skye just sat there, her mind already fulfilling in the blanks.

"You love me," She said, and Chase looked at her with hopeful eyes. "You're just not _in_ love with me. It's not me that's in your heart."

"Not you too." Chase groaned, placing his paws over his face.

"Chase," Skye started and Chase's ear perked at the sound. "Chase you...we _can't_ be together, even if you didn't love me."

"W-what? Why not?" Chase practically _demanded._ Not liking his tone, Skye scrunched up her nose a little, giving the German Shepherd a look of disdain.

"I have moved on," She said. "To someone who _does_ love me and is willing to take chance. You, however, is still stuck in the days where your little crush was actually legit and thinks it holds water to this very day. And in doing so, you are blinded by everything else that's happening around you. You didn't even realize your change of heart, did you?"

Chase didn't answer, making Skye sigh.

"The _problem_ here, Chase, is that you're taking too long." She said. "On top of being stubborn, you're also always cautious. You don't like taking risk if you knew the outcomes were bad rather good. So, I'm telling you this as someone knows better..."

Skye gave him a look.

"If you don't figure out what you want soon, it's not only _me_ you're missing out on."


	18. Chapter 18

When Rocky told Ryder what happen, the ten year old immediately sent most of the pups on a search party. He just hope that Marshall didn't go into the woods, like he normally would whenever the Dalmatian was upset and needed some time alone. In the meantime, however, he needed a stern talking to with Chase, he'd pulled the police pup to the side.

"Sir?" Chase asked, uncertain as Ryder gave him a no-nonsense glare.

"Chase, " Ryder started. "Care to explain your previous actions among on of your fellow teammate?"

Chase winced, ears slowly falling as his tail began to curl up against his leg.

"I...I..." Chase choked, tears appearing in his eyes. "I don't know...I'm just so _angry_ and confused."

Seeing Chase in such a state, Ryder's anger fell a little flat and looked at his pup with concern eyes.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?"

And so, Chase did. He told him about his feelings for Marshall from the very start; told him about how much they've changed and it felt weird because of it, told him about Sasha and how she concluded that he might've been falling for his best friend - to which, Chase denied to, told him that he had found Marshall lying in the driveway, asleep, and when Chase took him back to his pup house, he'd noticed Marshall's tears, and how his possessiveness was taking a toll on him. He told him he still has feelings for Skye, even though apparently Skye didn't, and he didn't know what to do now - he hadn't meant to take his anger out on Marshall, but with his feelings being in a tornado, Chase was sure he was one step away from being feral.

As Chase continued to pour out his feelings to Ryder, Ryder could see in Chase's eyes that his spirit was almost broken in a way, and Ryder felt his heart squeeze just a little. _Chase,_ Ryder thought. _You really don't know, do you?_

"Ryder sir? What do you suppose I do?" Chase whispered, but couldn't make eye contact, too upset and too _hurt_ to even try to keep some decent respect. Ryder sighed as he walked over to the pup and placed a hand on his back.

"Chase," Ryder started. "Chase you have to answer yourself honestly. Do you really have feelings for Skye? Or is she just a cover-up for something you're afraid is true?"

Chase couldn't answer, didn't _want_ to answer. Seeing the still stubborn look in his eyes, Ryder shook his head.

"Chase, I can't help you if you're not honest with yourself first. Nobody can. If Sasha couldn't get through to you, if Skye couldn't get through to you, why would you assume I would?" Ryder asked and still, the German Shepherd was silent. Ryder sigh. "Chase...don't make this harder than it has to be. You know, you always knew just as long as I did."

That comment caught Chase's attention, his ear twitching, as he looked up at his owner.

"W-what do you mean?"

Ryder smiled sadly.

"I think...you're forgetting some memories you had with Marshall. Before there was Skye, Rocky, Zuma and Rubble, there were only two of you and as much as I don't want to say it, I think..." Ryder bit his lip before shaking his head. "Never mind, forget what I'd said. Let's just go find Marshall, or do you want to be alone?"

"Being alone sounds good." Chase said, wiping away his tears. Ryder nodded before leaving the lookout, heading for his ATV. When it was clear, Chase let out a small whimper, curling up around himself. "Ryder, what was it you were going to say? And I haven't forgotten anything..."

The silence that followed was suffocating.

"I don't think."

* * *

Meanwhile, Marshall sighed as he walked around the town, tears slowly stopping. Adventure Bay was small town on an Island, so there wasn't many places Marshall could have went without one of the pups - he knew Ryder was searching for him - spotting him, and right now, he didn't want to be found. _I could always to Jake's Mountain and see Everest._ He thought, before shaking his head.

"Nah, she'll only question me about why I'm not with the others, or even worse, call Ryder himself." He said, chuckling a little, before letting out a sad sigh. His heart was too heavy to be making jokes, and when he'd realized why, he let out sob.

Seeing nothing but the hate and anger in Chase's eyes broke Marshall's heart. He wasn't even sure what he'd done this time to cause such a reaction out of a pup he use to call a best friend, but the fact that Chase was angry at _him_ made the pain he was currently feeling even worse, and the storm in his heart was not going away anytime soon.

"I can't do this anymore," He whispered, sniffling. "I can't keep putting myself through hoops for someone who'll not only won't return my feelings, but ends up hurting me - for something I'm not even sure I did!" He said, crying again. He stopped in his tracks and stared out before him. "Was my dad right? Will I never get any love of my own?"

The wind started to pick up just a little, and Marshall sighed once more, as he started to walk again. He soon came to a glass window and couldn't help but winch at the reflection shown before him.

His once beautiful, light blue eyes that once sparkled in joy and happiness was now a dark, dull, blue as his sclera were pinkish, on the borderline of being red. The outer ring around his eye were puffy, his ears, the ones that were usually perked in a certain way, was now laying flat against the side of his skull. Marshall could've sworn his coat had turned a slightest bit of color, but he was pretty sure that was just his imagination.

All in all, the poor pup looks to be a train wreck.

"I think this is the saddest I ever been." Marshall whispered, not sure whether to laugh or cry again. Feelings the tears starting up again, Marshall quickly pushed away from the window and continue to walk. He soon came to a crossing, and before he could make a decision, he heard a strum of a guitar coming from the right side of him, and decided to check it out. He'd followed the guitar all the way until he'd came across a man, couldn't be no older than 20, sitting in the back of an alley of somebody's house, playing a guitar, and humming a little. Marshall blinked, curious and maybe wonder, and before Marshall could speak, the 20 year old started to sing.

 _Have you ever have to love someone, that just don't feel the same?_  
Trying to make somebody care for you, the way I do,  
Is like trying to catch the rain  
And if love is really forever, I'm a winner at a losing game

Without thinking about it, Marshall moved in closer, liking the song as the man continue to sing in a low, gentle voice.

 _I know that I'll never be, the man that you need or love_  
Yeah, baby and it's killing me, to stand here and see  
I'm not what you're dreaming of  


 _Have you ever have to love someone, that just don't feel the same?_  
Trying to make somebody care for you, the way I do,  
Is like trying to catch the rain  
And if love is really forever, then I'm a winner at a losing game

_Oooh, and if love is really forever, then I'm a winner at a losing game_

_Oooh, I'm tired of losing..._

"That's beautiful." Marshall said, making the man jump in surprise. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"That's alright, didn't know there was anyone who likes Rascal Flatts." The man said, making Marshall confused.

"Who?"

"Singer. Well, not really, the band's _name_ is Rascal Flatts, but the singer's name is Gary LeVox. I'm just doing a cover, but I'm glad you like my singing." The man said and Marshall understood perfectly. There was a moment of silence before the man spoke again. "Name's Nick."

"Marshall." Marshall said before continuing. "So, how come the sad heartbroken music? You're an awesome singer, by the way. Why not do a little something more...happier?"

"Guess I'm not really in the mood. Boyfriend broke up with me." Nick said, setting down his guitar.

"Is this his house?" Marshall asked, noticing how Nick was below a balcony, but the man shook his head.

"No, my own. I just like playing back here, because it's more...quiet, I guess. Sorry if that sounds weird." He said, scratching the back of his head. Marshall just smiled.

"That's fine." He said, and Nick eyed him a little.

"You were crying. Did something happen to you too?" He asked. Thinking about the previous events, Marshall lowered his head.

"I...I..." Marshall gasped, ignoring the tears. "My crush hates me. It's bad enough he doesn't like me that way, but now he hates me and I have no idea why." Nick winched in sympathy.

"Ouch. You never told him?"

"I can't. He loves someone else." Marshall whimpered, making Nick pet his head in comfort.

"There, there. It'll be alright. Hey, how about a happier tune for the both of us? Will that make you feel better?" He asked, Marshall smiled a little.

"It'll be nice."

So, Nick continue to play his guitar, singing the song "Smile" by Uncle Kracker, with Marshall laying down next to him, listening. For once, a graceful smile appeared on the Dalmatian face.


	19. Chapter 19

They searched and searched until the sun was starting to set. As minutes passed by, worry and fear was starting to seep in.

"You guys," Skye started, the strain in her voice was clear as day. "The sun is about to set, and Marshall's nowhere to be seen!"

 _"Don't give up Skye, we'll find him!"_ Came Rubble's voice through her tag.

 _"If we don't, I'm gonna give Chase a piece of my mind."_ Rocky growled out, causing Skye to shiver.

 _"Rocky, there's no need for threatening."_ Ryder said in a stern voice, making the mix-breed sigh.

_"Sorry Ryder. I'm just worried."_

_"We all are, but we WILL find Marshall. Even if it takes all night."_ Ryder said, and with that the call ended. The Cockapoo sighed as she searched through the air, worry in her face. _Oh Marshall, I'm so sorry. I can only imagine the pain you're going through._ She thought as she thought back to Marshall's face full of tears, hurt, and betrayal. A frown appeared on her face. _Chase, how could you hurt Marshall so badly?_

The answer never came as she continued to look for the missing Dalmatian.

* * *

Meanwhile, Marshall gave out a yawn as he stretch out his legs.

"Those songs were beautiful, Nick." He said, smiling up at the man, who smiled back.

"I'm glad you think so! I hope you are okay now, though. I'm sorry to say, but it looks like you've been through hell and back." Nick said, making Marshall laugh lightly.

"I feel like it too. I haven't cried that much since the day I was born." He said, and the two laughed. Suddenly, there was noise of a helicopter and both looked up to see one above them, its lights shining down at him.

"Skye?" Marshall asked, making Nick look down at him just as the helicopter started to land. When the Cockapoo jumped out, she immediately ran over, sobbing, as she hugged him.

"Marshall! We've found you!" Skye said, crying. Marshall was surprised, but gently patted her on her head.

"Skye...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry so much." He said, but Skye shook her head.

"If anything, it's Chase's fault! He shouldn't have said those things to you! I can't lose my big brother over something like this!" She sobbed just as the rest pulled up in the alley.

"Marshall!" Rubble, Rocky, and Zuma shouted, running up to the Dalmatian and hugging him too, which caused Marshall to fall over and is now a dog pile. The others laughed just as Ryder chuckled and walked over to Nick.

"Thank you for watching my pup." He said and Nick shrugged his shoulders.

"Actually, the pup came over to me and we just started listenin' to some tunes. But now that I know he isn't lost, you're welcome." He said. Marshall looked over at Ryder with an uncertain glance in his eye.

"Ryder? Is it okay if I can stop by here every once and in a while?" Marshall asked. Ryder thought about it before smiling, giving the Dalmatian a nod.

"Of course." Marshall beamed, looking happier than he's ever been. When they started to leave, though, a mixture of dread and determination overcame him, but he knew what he must do.

He needed to know where Chase stood in all of this.

* * *

The sun was completely gone about time they'd reached the lookout. Marshall had told Ryder that he needed to speak to Chase alone, so no one could interrupt them. Ryder understood and allowed Marshall and Chase to talk it out on the lower levels of the lookout, just before the pups had to go to bed.

Chase was nervous as Marshall followed Ryder into the lookout, the ten year old heading upstairs while Marshall stayed down, with him, alone.

"Marshall! You're okay!" Chase said, relief washing over him. It was short, though, because Marshall was not acting himself. Instead, he'd simply stared at him, with a look of anger and hurt.

"Yeah, nice to know you care." Marshall mumbled out, still glaring at Chase, who shifted on his two front paws.

"What are you talking about? I always care." Chase said, confused and Marshall let out a bitter laugh.

"Yeah, you care. Is that why you've been making me cry over these past few weeks?" He asked, making Chase winch, ears slowly descending as guilt flashed in his eyes. The German Shepherd sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry okay? I never meant to hurt you. And, for the record, I don't hate you. I was just-"

"I don't want to hear anymore excuses!" Marshall shouted, making Chase flinch. Marshall closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "People can say they're sorry for a lot of things, but you know what I've learned the hard way? You can say it, and not mean it. Because you keep doing the same things over and over, and at some point, you have to ask yourself: 'Why bother? Another 'sorry' is just another lie' and then you have to ask yourself 'is it worth the pain?'."

Marshall looked at Chase.

"I'd learned that from _you._ " Chase's eyes went wide.

"M-me? What did I do?"

The irony of the question wasn't missed by either of the pups.

"Chase," Marshall sighed. "Chase, I need to know. What's happening between us? We use to be so close. Now every day it's like we're at war with each other. On top of that, you keep _pushing me away_ and I can't take it anymore! What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Chase immediately said. "Nothing's happening, at least, not much. It's just some weirdness but-"

"Weirdness? Is that what you're calling it?" Marshall asked, giving Chase a _Are you serious?_ look, which made Chase fluster and a little irate.

"Well, what else would you call it?" Chase taunted, glaring at him. Marshall just stared at him, mind blank. He knew one of Chase's faults was that he was obvious, but being _clueless_ shouldn't be one of them, sadly.

"Love. It's called love Chase."

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped. Chase was now looking at the spotted pup with eye, shock and maybe slightly terrified eyes, his whole body going stiff. Maybe that should've clued Marshall in what Chase was thinking, but this thing that's going on right now was too important.

To the both of them.

"W-what?" Chase whispered, looking at Marshall like he was brand new. Marshall sighed.

"Chas-"

"Are you saying that I'm in love with you?" Chase asked, the shock replaced with something anew - fury. For once, since the whole thing began, Marshall was beginning to feel nervous.

"I don't know, are you?"

"No! I mean, love you like a brother, but...no...I can't-"

"Chase..."

"It isn't right!"

"Chase..."

"It was suppose to be me and Skye, not you and I!"

"Chase..."

"What am I going to tell Skye?"

"CHASE!" That made Chase stop rambling as he looked over the Dalmatian, who kept a steady glance with him. "I love you."

Silence.

The crickets were chirping outside to fill in the long pause that was between the two.

"What?"

"I love you," Marshall repeated. "More than a friend. More than a brother. I...I want to be your ma-"

"NO!" Chase screamed, immediately backing away and shaking his head. "No, no, no! Not you! Skye, where is Skye?"

If Marshall was hurt by any of his reactions, he didn't let it show. Instead, he'd simply watched the German Shepherd rambling on and on about how he was just his friend, and that it was Skye he was really in love with, and that they couldn't be together. Marshall just sighed.

"Chase," Marshall started. "Do you really love her? Do you want to be mates with her?"

"YES!" Chase shouted, so sure that what he did was the right one and eventually Marshall's little crush on him would go away soon. Something about that made his gut squirm with anxiety, and before Chase could say anything more.

"Then, I hope you're happy with her." Marshall said as he turned around and began to walk out of the lookout. For some reason, seeing Marshall's back turn, seeing the look of defeat, seeing how Marshall was _willing_ to stop chasing after Chase made his heart clench, and then something snapped inside of him.

Before he knew it, Chase had let out a long, anguish howl.

_Ryder, Rocky, Chase, and Marshall were all walking down the street, on their way to Katie's grooming shop._

_"I hope she's okay." Rocky said, making the other two male pups nodded._

_"Yeah, she was in such a bad shape when we'd found her. I hope Katie was able to help her." Marshall said._

_"Only one way to find out." Ryder said just as they entered the shop. "Katie?"_

_"In here Ryder!" A voice called out. The others followed the voice to the back room, where the blond had just finish brushing the matted fur out of the pup they'd found hair. That's when Katie stepped to the side, revealing the pup. "What do you think?"_

_All the boy's mouth dropped as they took her in._

_Underneath the matted fur, beautiful golden curls were wavering down the pups ears and tail, her fur a beautiful shade of brown, and now that they could see her eyes, the pinkish hues glittered with happiness and joy. She giggled, yelped, and giggled again._

_"Wow, you did a fantastic job, Katie!" Ryder said, making the blonde blush. Ryder turned to the pup._

_"Hello Skye. How are you?" He asked. Skye giggled._

_"I'm doing fine Ryder, thanks for helping me!" She said with a smile. Ryder turned to his remaining three._

_"Come on guys, I want you to meet Skye." He said. Marshall and Rocky immediately got up, but Marshall paused as he looked back to see Chase staring at her. Something about the stare made Marshall uncomfortable, but he'd choose to ignore it. When everyone greeted Skye, they talked for a bit before Ryder and the pups had to go. While walking, Marshall turned to Chase._

_"So, Chase, what do you think about Skye?" He asked. Chase blinked a little, before looking back at his friend, a lovely smile appearing on his face. The smile, Marshall thought, was off and the next thing Chase had said had nearly sent him in a panic._

_"I think she's the most prettiest pup in the world." Chase sighed dreamily, just missing the hurt that flashed in Marshall's eyes._

**_You told me I was pretty._ **


	20. Chapter 20

_A few weeks has passed since the boys found Skye. Nothing has really change since then, except Ryder offering her a place to stay, so now their little family was starting to grow. Though, the same however, there was another one little change that Marshall wasn't quite sure he was comfortable with._

_It was bright and sunny day when the Dalmatian came up to him with a red ball with yellow stars on it._

_"Hey Chase, wanna play ball?" Marshall asked, stopping the ball with one of his front paw and grinning up at the German Shepherd. Chase, who had his back turn, shook his head._

_"No thanks, I'm getting ready to go to the store with Ryder." He said. Marshall blinked._

_"Store? Well...can I come with? I'm sure Rocky and I would-"_

_"Actually, I kind of want to go alone," Chase said, shifting his paws with a blush on his face. "You see...I asked Ryder to take me to the toy store so I can buy Skye a very special gift."_

_Something about that made Marshall's gut squirm and when a dark thought came to him, the Dalmatian quickly shoved it away._

_"Oh. Well...what kind of gift you're going to get?"_

_"A trampoline," Chase said, perking up a little as his eyes glittered with excitement. Seeing how happy the German Shepherd looked, Marshall couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. **What about me? You never brought anything for me.** He thought. "Skye likes being off the ground, and I thought it was a nice gift to give her as a welcome to the team kind of thing. What do you think? You think she'll like it?"_

_"She'll probably love it." Marshall was forced to say, and Chase howled, smiling._

_"That's even better! I really want her to like me." He said, blushing at the thought. Marshall just stared at him and was about to make a comment, probably something he was going to regret, when Ryder called out for Chase._

_"Come on Chase. We have to go before the store closes." He said. Chase immediately ran over to the boy, waved goodbye to Marshall, and started heading towards the town. Marshall, however, left on top of the hill, was starting to feel abandon._

_**What's so special about this Skye?** _

Marshall open his eyes, the tear stain dried on his face.

"I never even stood a chance, did I?" He asked, staring at the back of his pup house. It was quiet from what Marshall could hear, as there was no one banging on his door and asking him what was wrong. "I was fighting a losing battle, wasn't I? He could never...I was just..."

Marshall sighed, laying his head down and closed his eyes.

"It's over...I should move on."

Meanwhile, with Chase, he was staring at the wall of his own pup house, dazed. _Why does my chest hurt so badly? Why does it feel like I'd just lost a part of myself? And why does Marshall's words keep playing in my mind?_

_"Then, I hope you're happy with her."_

_Why does it feel like I just lost someone very important?_

* * *

The next morning was eerie quiet. The birds Chase had come to know stopped chirping and he didn't hear any critters running about. The silence that was following him made him nervous, because unlike most quiet mornings, this one seemed off. There was something in the air that tasted sour, and for the life of him, Chase couldn't figure out what.

Despite that, the rest of the pups were fine...kind of.

After they had woken up, _some_ of them had forgotten everything that had transpired yesterday and continued their daily lives. Zuma and Rocky were talking to each other, Rocky doing all the talking while Zuma just listened. For a moment, Chase thought the two were closer to each other than normal, but he'd figured that was just his imagination. Rubble was the one who'd forgotten everything, too excited about the movie and breakfast to keep up with the act of being angry at Chase for hurting Marshall. Skye had giggled at Rubble's behavior, and Chase blinked. _Did she move on...to Rubble?_ He thought before shaking his head. _Nah, not possible._

"Hey, where's Marshall?" Ryder asked. At the mention of his name, the pups froze and slowly looked over at Chase. Chase swallowed as he glanced back. Rocky was staring at him, accusing, Zuma merely curious, Rubble glaring at him, and Skye...well, she wasn't looking at him at all.

"Fine. I'll go get him." Chase said, getting up and walking over to Marshall's fire house. He knocked on the door. "Marshall? You in there bud?"

Silence.

Chase felt his gut squirm as he knocked again. "Marshall?"

"What?"

Chase sighed in relief.

"Come on, bud. It's time to eat." He said. There was a brief moment of silence before Marshall answered.

"I'm not hungry." At that, Chase began to worry.

"What? But you're always hungry! Come on Marshall, you have to come out sooner or later!"

"I said I'm not hungry, now go away." There was a low growl of warning coming from the pup house and Chase could feel his confidence slip the more he'd stood there, Marshall still inside. _Marshall..._

"Marshall, I'm sorry about yesterday. But you have to have known how I'd felt about Skye." Chase said, and was given a snort for an answer.

"Yeah, I know," Marshall said. "Been knew. And maybe that was the worst part of it. Now, go away Chase. I'm tired and I want to sleep."

Something inside of Chase wanted to cry out, and it was struggling to break free. With force movement, Chase began to walk away and back with the other pups and Ryder, who looked over at Chase with worried eyes.

"He wants to sleep in." He said.

"Considering he's not doing anything today, I'd say let him. The poor pup must be tired." Rocky said, but the accusation in his tone was there, and Chase would have to be deaf to not hear the unspoken _from all the crying and the hurt Chase had put him through_ in voice. Something... _deep_ inside of him was starting to break through, and the more it started to appear, the more worried Chase had become.

"Well, you're right. I just hope that, should anything happen, Marshall knows better than to sleep through a job." Ryder said. The pups agreed and Chase just sat there, mind going blank because he can _feel_ something much more darker and much more feral crawling inside of him. The tightness in his chest swelled, coiled in anger, as a voice hauntingly whispered a word in the back of his mind.

**Mine.**


	21. Chapter 21

That day, all the pups except Marshall, who was still sleeping inside his pup house, went down to the beach, where they were filming the next scene for the movie.

"Action!" Rachael shouted.

Chase began running towards a boat, with Skye on his tail.

"Give it up, Agent Lani! You're never going to catch me!" Chase said, briefly looking back at Skye before running even faster. Skye narrowed her eyes.

"Think so, huh Blaze?" She muttered before calling out her signature phase. "Ruff ruff! Wings!" The jet pack on her back started to work and with enough power, Skye was able to fly and flew straight towards Chase. The German Shepherd didn't have enough time to move out of the way before Skye had tumbled into him, causing both to roll until Chase was on his back, with Skye on top of him. The two stared at each other for a while, glaring, despite how uncomfortable they both feel. "Why did you do it? Huh?! Why?!"

"I don't have to answer to you," Chase sneered, pressing his nose against Skye's. The move made Skye's heart skip a beat, and for a moment, almost made her drop her character, while Chase did his best not flinch, as voice inside his head started screaming.

**Not mate! Not mate! Where is mate?!**

"Maybe not to me, but you _will_ answer to our boss!"

**Need mate! You hurt mate, so I will take care of him! WHERE IS HE?!**

"Don't you mean _your_ boss?" Chase asked, voice filled with sarcasm...and a little bit of strain. Being so close to him, Skye was able to hear it, and raised an eyebrow. Even though she couldn't break character, she let her eyes do all the talking.

_Are you okay?_

"He's just as much as yours as he is mine. How could you betray us...betray... _me_?" Skye whimpered. Chase raised an eyebrow just as he'd spoke to her.

_I'm good...I think..._

"Don't tell me you've falling in love with me? You hated my guts since training." He snorted, and the voice inside his head roared in fury at being ignored.

**DON'T HURT MY MATE!**

"SHUT UP!" Chase screamed, causing everyone to blink in surprise. Skye whimpered as she backed away from him.

"Cut! Chase, are you alright? That...that wasn't part of the script..." Rachael said, chuckling nervously. The German Shepherd shook his head and began running pass everyone.

"Excuse me, I just need some air!" He said, not stopping for anything. The others watched in concern.

"Well...break, I guess. I'll go talk to Chase to see what was all that about." Rachael said, and just before she could, Sasha stopped her.

"Sweetie pie, let me handle this one. Don't mean to offend, but I think I can get to the point _far_ better than chu." She said and Rachael was left stun as the Poodle followed after Chase, with a skip in her steps. Rachael sighed and scratched her head.

"Dogs these days..."

* * *

Meanwhile, back with Marshall, the Dalmatian yawned as the door open. His stomach growled, complaining about the lack of food, but he just choose to ignore it. Looking around, he'd noted that no one was there.

"They must be helping out with the movie." He said and when he remembered the roles of Chase and Skye, a dark scowl appeared on his face. "Bet he's having fun, being so close to his crush and all." He'd muttered, kicking over a rock as he started walking down the hill. "Bet they're having a romantic setting right now, and I bet it's a dream come true for Chase - having his feelings returned and Skye's just sucking it all up too. What, with her stupid, pretty smiles and her stupid, pretty eyes, and her dumb laugh and giggles. She's _always_ giggling too, isn't that annoying? I thought guys hate it when girls laugh too much. Don't they come across as obnoxious or something like that? But no, not Chase. Chase will love her to the end of time, no matter what she does, and Skye knows she'll be the center of Chase's world, and he'll give in to everything she says. Why? Because he _loves_ her, that's why. Nothing she'd do will be annoying to Chase."

Marshall stopped by the very same window where he'd saw his reflection, noticing the dark look on his face, shook his head and sighed.

"Jealously, thy name is Marshall." He muttered, staring at himself with wary eyes. "Look at me. I'm becoming a monster - all for a pup who did nothing but break my heart. Where's Fuzzy when you need him?"

Shaking his head again, Marshall continued to walk and soon came across a familiar alley. He'd peeked around the corner to see Nick still sitting in the same spot, playing his guitar. Smiling, Marshall walked over to him.

"Hi." Nick open his eyes and smiled down at Marshall.

"Hey Marshall. Feeling better?" He asked.

"A little, but...I'm getting there...I think. I just need some time alone, away from Chase and Skye." The Dalmatian said, and before Nick could respond, Marshall's stomach growled, causing him to blush.

"Hungry?" Nick asked, amused. Marshall grinned cheekily.

"Yeah. Kind of skip breakfast." He said, making Nick frown.

"Ah, that's not good. Skipping meals is the first sign of depression...so I've been told. My friends use to go through some serious sadness whenever something bad happens, like a break up. They would stop eating, stop wanting to hang out and...well, bad things happen after. Come on, let's go into my house and I'll fix you something." Nick said as he got up and began walking into his home from the backdoor, with Marshall following.

The place was rather small, and Marshall was quite surprise to see the kitchen being the room they were stepping into.

"Kind of cramp-y, isn't it?" Marshall asked, and Nick shrugged.

"Eh, always liked enclosed spaces. It fits me rather well, as my ex would say." He said before letting out a sigh. Marshall, hearing this, frowned.

"Whatever happen between you two? That is, if you want to talk about it. I'm a good listener, you know." He said, smiling as Nick laughed, using what little safe food he could find and mix it into a bowl for Marshall.

"I know," He said before sighing. "Where to start? Arguments, coming home late, not wanting to spend time together anymore. Oh, and forgotten to mention that he was also attracted to the opposite sex, so guess what I'd found laying around in my bed?" He asked, laughing humorlessly. Marshall winched and patted Nick on his pant leg, a dog version of patting someone on the back.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have asked."

"It's alright, seems like you're not the only one having girl troubles." Nick said, and Marshall made a face.

"Pah. Somehow, 'girl' and 'troubles' seems like an excellent pair." He said and Nick laughed again, placing the bowl down to Marshall.

"Oh? Anti strikes against girls now, Marshall?" He asked amusingly.

"No. Just the ones who - inadvertently - causes a heart to break." Marshall said, causing Nick to laugh again.

"Reminds me of Michael Jackson's song, Heartbreaker." He said, and Marshall smiled. For a moment, they were silent and just as Marshall was about to eat the last bit of his food, he looked up.

"Mind playing that song?"

Nick smiled, grabbing his guitar.

 _Deceitful eyes, she's got those come get me thighs_  
She only knows how low that she can go  
She speaks the lines that can control my mind  
Wherever she goes, I know my eyes follow

* * *

Chase was sitting on top of a hill - the very same one Skye had chased him up to. A breeze flew by and Chase sighed.

"What's happening to me?"

"Chur natural instincts are appearing, sugar." Chase froze and slowly turned around to see the French Poodle standing there, tall and proud and Chase _hated_ it. She tisk'd. "For once, the wild side of chu is talking back."

"What are you talking about?"

"Natural instincts, or, as chu rather, chur feral side." Sasha said, taking a seat next to Chase, who'd only stared at her with wide eyes.

"F-feral?"

"Yes," She said, closing her eyes. "It is displeased that chu are wasting time. How did chu let it come to this, sugar?"

"..." Chase looked down at Adventure Bay. "He told me he loved me."

"And what did chu say?"

"..."

"..."

"...I rejected," Chase said, closing his eyes. "I still love Skye. I know I do."

"There is no doubt that you do, sugar," Sasha said. "Chu care for her. She is and was chur first crush - first love. It is very possible chu still have feelings for her."

"So then, why..."

"Because, the love chu have for her is gone, or, at the very least, not visible enough for everyone else to see. Chu love someone else. Someone who has been there, waiting for chu to notice him, and has been waiting for chu since the start. But chu still love Skye. That is something we cannot ignore." Sasha said, folding her arms across one of another as she gave Chase a look. "Now, is the time where chu start telling the truth. Chase...do chu have feelings for Marshall?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...I," Chase gasped, closing his eyes. "N-nnggh, yes."

"And chu love Skye, correct?"

"Yes."

"So now, the question is - who do chu love more?"

And _that_ was something Chase couldn't answer.


	22. Chapter 22

Marshall waved goodbye to Nick, who smiled and waved back, as he began to walk down the street. The Dalmatian sighed, thinking back on the conversation he had with his human friend not too long ago.

_"So I guess this is it. Our friendship is ruined, forever, maybe, but I know he'll be happy." Marshall said, just as Nick stopped playing the guitar and looked over at the Dalmatian with concern in his eyes._

_"I'm so sorry, Marshall. It must've been hard for you to deal with that." He said and Marshall sighed._

_"Yeah...I hate love." He said._

_"Hey now, don't go believing that. Maybe this Chase guy just isn't the one for you. There's plenty more fish in the sea." Nick said, earning himself a confused look from Marshall._

_"Fish...?"_

_"It means, there are plenty more guys out there, waiting to love you. You just have to find the right one." Nick said, beaming. The thought of being with someone else made Marshall's gut squirm, a wave of uncertainty washing over him._

_"I don't know...I don't..."_

_"What you're feeling right now Marshall is normal. You're in the progress of understanding that the one you'd wanted doesn't want you, and despite telling yourself to move on...you can't. Not when you two have so many memories together. But soon, you'll forget that, and soon, someone else is going to pick you up and maybe you'll learn to love them instead." Nick said, but the uncertainty still lingered._

_"It's not that I don't believe you, Nick," Marshall started. "It's just...it's...it's hard to explain, but-"_

_"Chase was your world. You loved him the very moment you two had met. He had became your everything. And when he'd left, you might as well lay down and die. Now you're afraid that, if someone was to become your world again, would they do the same thing Chase has done to you? And if not that, then you're afraid you may never find the same type of love that you had with Chase."_

_Marshall was stunned silence, but Nick continued._

_"Or maybe, your imaginary partner doesn't live up to your expectations. What are your expectations? They aren't Chase. And you know it isn't fair to them to compare them to someone who'd broke your heart. But you can't help it. Because they are nice, and he was nice, and the warm, fuzzy feelings that you are feeling are exactly the same feelings he'd made you feel, right? And you just can't stop comparing. And maybe, you've realized there is no hope. No one can replace him."_

_"I...Nick, I..."_

_"I've tried to replace him. Really. I tried the dating scene, and every time, it'd failed. Because I still freaking remember! I remember the kisses, soft touches, the 'I love you's, and the promises he'd never kept. And I can't blame people for leaving me, because I keep accusing them of cheating when they weren't and how girl they have as a friend was the girl that was going to steal them away from me. It's not their fault I'm still broken. So believe me, Marshall, I know. I've been waiting for my ex for some time now. He hasn't shown up yet."_

_Marshall stared at the floor, tears starting to appear in his eyes._

_"I'm sorry." He whispered. Nick didn't say anything, just looking out his window. For a while, it was silent before the man spoke up again._

_"I cannot stop you from feeling like you do, Marshall. You still believe, in your heart, that Chase is the one for you. I cannot convince you otherwise. In my opinion, I really want you to move on, because I just know, somewhere, there's a guy just for you. But, you have to move at your own pace. I will not force you to." Nick said, before turning back to Marshall. "My mother once told me, if you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, then it is yours. If it doesn't, then at least you know."_

_"Truthfully, was I ever given the choice?" Marshall asked, slight bitterness in his tone._

_"Marshall, you did the right thing. You'd let him go, even if you didn't want to, even if **he** didn't. If you had continued to hold on, it would've been much worse for you, trust me. He's already crushed your spirit. Don't let him crush your hopes and dreams too."_

Marshall sighed, looking down at the ground. Was Nick's advice right? Was letting go and moving on the right thing for Marshall to do? Then he thought about Nick.

He had noticed the guitarist looking sad when he'd sung certain songs. Marshall could tell that the man was coming close to crying, practically begging for a man Marshall was sure was long gone, and it _hurt._ He'd never came back, and Nick still wanted him, despite the crap he'd put him through.

 _Will that be me and Chase? Will I forever hang on to a guy, who made it clear that Skye was the one he'd wanted and...still hurting in the process?_ Marshall didn't like the thought. He didn't want to wait, he's done enough of that, but still...

_My mind says no, but my heart says yes. Why is it so difficult?_

Marshall choked.

_The things you do to me..._

_You made me cry..._

_You made me become a shadow of myself..._

_You made me become someone who I'd never wanted to be..._

_And on top of that, you're going to make me become someone I have always feared I would be..._

_So tell me this..._

_Are you even worth it anymore?_


	23. Chapter 23

Chase sighed, looking up at the sky.

After Sasha left, Chase's mind was in a whirlwind. He knew, in his heart, that everything, up 'til now, Sasha had said had been on point, but a part of him still loved Skye, still wanted to be with her, and yet...

He also loved Marshall.

Marshall, his best friend since the beginning; the pup who always made Chase smile, even when he's down. The pup who looked after him when he was sick or injured; the pup who knew of Chase's secret and never told a soul when it had been Chase and Skye. Marshall, who had placed his fears behind him in order to do his job and rescue a kitten from the top of the bridge. Marshall, who gave Chase the confidence he needed when he'd felt left out in Farmer Yumi's farm - as well as the herding completion. Marshall, with his lovely blue eyes and spots, heart made out of pure gold, and had lend a paw whenever someone needed it.

Both Ryder and Chase had nicknamed him Spirit, for the simple fact that Marshall was care-free and loved everyone equally, as well as carrying a hint of innocence wherever he goes. Maybe that's why birds like him so much.

And the more Chase thought about it, the better the option sounded.

Marshall was the sunshine on a cloudy day, the one Chase would always turn to if he was ever in trouble, and knew he wouldn't hold judgment against him for anything. Maybe he'll be stern once or twice, but Marshall was generally a good spirit, not the one to hold a grudge.

And Chase liked that...he liked it a lot.

For once, now that he actually sat down and thought about it, Chase knew who he wanted to be with.

He loved Skye. That was something that'll never change. Sasha knew it, Chase knew it, Skye knew it, and maybe Marshall did too. Skye was his first love, after all, and there was truth about first loves never being forgotten. He'll still have soft spot for her, he knew. He'll do whatever she says without a hint of hesitation on his part. Maybe because he's a fool, but it's the truth - Chase could never lie to himself well.

But he loved Marshall more. The pup who had been there in his darkest hour had been Marshall, and Marshall had done a lot more things for him than Chase could ever say and admit out loud than Skye. Even when he broke his heart (Chase winched), Marshall had still been there for him...until now.

Thinking about the past events these days, Chase whimpered.

For a couple of days, Marshall's nickname hasn't been shining through like it always was and Chase knew he was to blame. He had put the Dally through hell, because of his stubborn pride and refusal to see things for how they are. It's very now possible that Marshall could be holding a grudge against Chase or...

 _Or,_ He thought, winching again as his ears fell flat. _He might've moved on. He's been missing from the set for a couple of days too. Has he found someone else?_ The thought brought the most intense pain Chase had never felt before and whined a little. _Am I too late? Did I finally push him away far enough to realize it wouldn't work out?_ Tears were starting gather.

Chase couldn't shake the hurt and anger at the thought of Marshall being with someone else, the thought of another dog placing their filthy paws on Marshall and...Marshall allowing it to happen. It broke his own heart to see Marshall happy, and the one who was making Marshall happy was not him.

"I can fix this," Chase said, wiping away his tears. "I can. I'll fix Marshall's heart, and soon, he'll have to fall back in love with me...right?"

* * *

Marshall sighed walking along the trail in the forest. He had once thought about going back to the lookout, but changed his mind. _Don't wanna have Chase and Skye rub their new relationship status in my face._

Marshall was starting to feel bitter about the whole thing, and maybe a slight bit of anger too.

He _hated_ feeling anything other than happy. It wasn't like Marshall to feel something that generally wasn't positive, because Marshall had always been a positive dog, and this whole situation was starting to make him go sour.

"I'm a train wreck, as Nick puts it lightly." He'd muttered, coming to his stop and sighed. "I love you, Chase. I really do. But I can't handle you falling in love with someone who's not even sure who she wants to be with." He said, narrowing his eyes. "She never paid attention to him, either. Obvious as he is to me, who had been there, waiting, praying for the day that maybe, just maybe, Chase would see me in a new light. That day hasn't come yet."

_"He hasn't shown up yet."_

Those words ring in his ears like a haunting voice, and Marshall's eyes went wide.

"That...that's..." _That's exactly what Nick had said to me. Does that mean I'm already on my way to being hopelessly in love with someone...who doesn't even return the call?_ He thought, and his heart squeezed just so, making him flinch. "If so...then...then..."

_"If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, then it is yours. If it doesn't, then at least you know."_

"Move on Marshall. That's all you have to do. Move on." Marshall said to himself, breathing in and out, trying to calm himself. "I have to...love someone else. Even if I don't want to. I have to." He closed his eyes, trying to relax.

Suddenly, Marshall smelled something...something that was burning.

At that moment, the Dalmatian opened his eyes just as a voice shouted.

"HELP! FOREST FIRE!"


	24. Chapter 24

Marshall stood frozen, unable to believe what he'd just heard, but, by the smell of things and hearing panic voices, he knew it was true.

"W-what?" He said, just as a man run up to him.

"M-Marshall! You have to help us! The fire is already spreading, there's people down there!" He said, which brought Marshall back to reality and immediately stood firm, mind going into duty mode.

"Go tell Mayor Goodway! Tell her to call the local fire department!" He said just as he began to run into the inferno. The man eyes went wide.

"W-what, where are you going?!"

"I'm going to help the people, there's no time to lose! Hurry up!" Marshall yelled back, barking and howling as he disappeared out of sight. The man watched the dog as he went before into the opposite direction, still calling for help.

Meanwhile, Marshall continued to race through the forest, fire and smoke everywhere. He listened intensively to any sounds of distress, eyes narrowed in focus. He'd soon came to a picnic spot where he'd spotted a family, who was trying to find a way out of the ring of fire. _Would I wouldn't give for Chase's microphone right now._ He thought as he continued to run towards the family. He howled to get their attention, which worked.

"Marshall!" The father cried out. Marshall had been on his way when suddenly, a large branch caught on fire fell and got in his way. _Also, my pup pack would help too right about now._ He thought, looking for another way around to get to the family. He soon spotted a narrowed path, but judging by how small the path is, Marshall could easily be brunt with one careless step. _Don't have time to worry about that now._ He thought, racing down the path. He didn't get out unscathed, however, and he flinched at the sting of the fire that got him on his side.

"This way, but _only_ one at a time. The path's too narrowed and I'm afraid I can't put the fire out to make it wider!" He shouted. The family nodded in understanding and one-by-one did the family of three make it out. They would've cheered, but they knew that this isn't the time or place. "Is there anyone else in the forest?!"

"We don't think so." The mother said, just as their daughter pulled on her arm.

"Dani.." She said, pouting. At the name, both of the parent's eyes went wide.

"That's right! Danielle went off exploring by herself into the forest!" The father exclaimed, causing his wife to gasp in horror.

"My baby..."

"Don't worry, I'll find her! Just get to safety and fast! Before the whole forest catch on fire!" Marshall said. The family nodded and as the father picked up the smaller child and began to run, Marshall let out a cough.

"Fire's getting thick. And a little too hot. I have to hurry!" He said, going deeper and deeper into the forest, as the branches began to fall and the grass continued to catch on fire.

* * *

Ryder had been chatting up with Katie when he got the call.

"Hello, Ryder here."

"Ryder! We have a Code Red!" Mayor Goodway screamed from the puppad, making Ryder flinch.

"Code Red? There's a fire?" Ryder asked.

"Not just any fire, a forest fire! And it's already spreading to the other parts of the forest!" She said, worried.

"Hmm, looks like we'll need some help with this one." Ryder said.

"I've already contacted the fire department, they are on their way. Oh, and Ryder?" Mayor Goodway started, looking more and more panic than Ryder has ever seen her, not even for Chickaletta.

"Yes?"

"Marshall's already there."

* * *

The further Marshall went into the forest, the harder it got to breath. As the smoke began to get thicker, the heat of the fire was finally getting to him, despite his attempts to wear off the dizzy spell caused by such a thing. _Gotta...find the...kid..._ He thought, coughing. Along the way of the trail, Marshall had manage to get some scraps and bruises from rescuing small animals that were trapped by the fire, but the Dalmatian didn't let his injuries slow him down.

"What was her name? Dana? Dani?" He muttered before it clicked to him. "Danielle! Danielle! Where are you?!"

There had been no answer, but he did a familiar chatter coming from a certain tree. He'd quickly turned around to see the very same bunny family he had met was now in trouble once again, as the fire slowly inched its way to the bunny burrow. He gasped and quickly ran to them and started digging another exit out. When the ground was wide enough, he stopped. "Aright, let's go!"

One by one the bunnies hopped out of the burrow and began hopping away. Marshall smiled before he heard a 'hoot' and looked up to see Lil Hootie, who was flying with an injured wing or at least, trying to. He wasn't lasting very long and soon, began plummeting towards the ground.

"Lil' Hootie!" Marshall gasped, racing towards the fallen bird. With a leap, he'd manage to catch him on his back before he hit the ground. "You okay?" He asked the bird, who gave him a short 'hoot' as a response. The Dalmatian smiled lightly, but the moment was ruined just as a tree started to give way and headed towards them. The Dalmatian quickly moved out of the way, heart pounding.

"That was a close one." He said and Lil Hootie hooted in agreement. Marshall could feel his whole body tense from this and he'd wondered if he was going to make it out of this alive. _Don't think like that,_ He thought, eyes narrowing as he continued heading deeper and deeper into the forest, even as Lil' Hootie shifted uncomfortably on his back. _You can do this Marshall. This is what you've been training to do._

But he never had to do it alone before.

 _You're not alone, you just haven't called Ryder._ He thought and scoffed.

"Too late for that now." He muttered, which Lil' Hootie gave an inquiring 'hoot' to which Marshall responded. "It's nothing Lil Hootie. I just need to save this girl who's trapped in the forest. You haven't seen her have you?"

Lil Hootie 'hooted' once, pointed to the left side of Marshall.

"Thanks." With that, Marshall began speeding off into that direction.

* * *

When the rest of the pups arrived on the scene, they gasped, eyes wide at the sight before them.

"Wow..." Rocky said.

"It's so big. Bigger than any fires I have ever seen!" Rubble said.

"And it's _still_ going!" Skye said, panicking. It was the tone of her voice that brought the other pup's attention to the situation, and realized what they were actually here for.

"You guys, Mawshall's in thewe!" Zuma said, eyes still wide and worried. Hearing the name of the Dalmatian brought worry and fear in the rest of pups.

"You think he's in trouble?" Rubble asked.

"Only one way to find out. Skye, use your helicopter to see overhead." Ryder said and Skye nodded.

"Ruff, ruff! This pup's gotta fly!" She said, getting into her helicopter. Ryder looked over at Chase, who was still looking at the fire with amazement, fear, and worry. "Chase, think you can find a scent and track down Marshall? Or anyone who's still in the forest?"

Chase, who had been out of it, blinked before nodding in confirmation.

"Chase is on the case!" With that, Chase raced into the forest, with Ryder behind him.

"The rest of you, help out with the fire department!" Ryder called out before facing front with determination in his eyes. _Marshall,_ Chase thought, swallowing his fear. _You better be alright. We're not done talking just yet._


	25. Chapter 25

As Skye continued to search through the air, she kept an eye out for Marshall or anyone else trapped in the forest. So intent of finding Marshall, she hadn't noticed she was getting closer to the smoke until her engine started to sputter, which brought her attention back to her flying.

"Whoa!" She said, pulling up just above the smoke. That's when she called Ryder. "Ryder, I can't get too close to the fire or else my engines will fry because of the smoke."

_"That's alright Skye, just keep an eye out for Marshall if you can."_

"Roger that. Also, I've contacted the fire department's helicopter. They're going to help keep an eye out for him too."

 _"Copy that. Be careful Skye."_ With that, Skye continued the search.

Back on the ground, Ryder looked at Chase.

"Anything?" He asked, and Chase picked up his head, coughing.

"It's hard with all this smoke and brunt grass in the way, but I think...I think I got it." The Shepherd said, coughing again.

"Easy Chase, I know we're on a clock, but I don't want you to get hurt too." Ryder said, patting the top of Chase's head. The German Shepherd coughed again, ignoring the tears stinging his eyes.

"I'm good. Let's just find Marshall." He said and with that, the two continued heading deeper into the forest.

* * *

Back with Marshall, the Dalmatian was running and running until he came across a ditch.

"You sure this is where you'd last saw her Lil' Hootie?" He asked and the owl hoed softly, almost drowsily. Marshall couldn't stop the flinch. _Looks like the fumes are getting to him. Better hurry!_ He thought, looking around until he saw something bright yellow that looked like hair further down the ditch. _That must be her!_ He thought and began running down the side of the ditch.

"Danielle! Danielle!" He called out, coughing a little. The little girl paused when she heard her name and looked up to see Marshall running towards her, and smiled.

"M-Marshall! I'm so glad you're here, I was trying to find my way back to my mommy and daddy, but I got lost! And then, this fire appeared out of nowhere!" She said, coming close to tears.

"Shh, Danielle. It's going to be okay, _you're_ going to be okay. I know where your parents are, I'll take you to them. But first, let's get you out of this ditch." Marshall said, smiling gently. The little girl smiled back, despite her tears.

"Okay." She said just as Marshall began to look around for something for Danielle to climb on. He coughed again. _Come on, come on, there has to be something!_ Suddenly, Marshall spotted a fallen tree that was a few feet away from them, and landed into the ditch. He smiled.

"Danielle, there's a tree you can climb on. Do you see it?" He asked. Danielle looked around and when she spotted the tree, she nodded. "Good. You can use that as ramp to get up here." That's when Marshall looked behind the little girl and gasp.

There was fire heading directly towards Danielle.

Marshall looked back quickly and shouted for her to run. Danielle had been confused, but when she saw the fire behind her, she ran as fast as her chubby legs could take her. The girl was starting to tear up again.

"M-Marshall!"

"You'll be fine, I promise! You're almost there!" Marshall shouted, but Danielle had tripped over a small rock and landed face first into the ground. Marshall gasped and checked to see the fire was quickly catching up to her. Without thought, Marshall jumped down and gently used his teeth to carry her. "Hang on Lil Hootie." He'd muffled, but the owl quickly understood and held onto the dog as tightly as he could with one wing.

With both passengers secured, Marshall quickly ran towards the tree, jumped on and ran to safety. When they were on higher ground, Marshall placed the little girl down, who was sobbing quietly.

"Are you okay, Danielle?" He asked, but Danielle shook her head.

"I-I'm scared! I-I want my m-mommy!" She sobbed.

"Danielle, look at me," Marshall said and Danielle turned to him with brown, teary-eyed eyes. The Dalmatian smiled. "You're doing great. As soon as we get out of this forest, we'll find your parents, okay? That's a promise. You are so brave, I want you to know that."

Danielle hiccupped.

"R-really?" She asked and Marshall nodded.

"Yeah, I never seen such a brave child like you. You're handling this very well. Come on, stop crying. We have to move." Marshall said, getting up as Danielle nodded, wiping away her tears.

"I'm not a scardey-cat, I'm brave. I can do this!" She said, looking confident. Marshall grinned again.

"That's the spirit! Come on, there should be an exit soon." With that, both the pup and child began running to what they hope would be the end of a nightmare.

* * *

Back with Chase and Ryder, both Ryder and the German Shepherd let out another cough.

"Picked up his scent?" Ryder asked, still coughing.

"Almost..." Chase said, also coughing, but deep inside, was getting worried. _The fire isn't going anywhere, as well as the smoke and both of them are covering up Marshall's scent._ He thought, the fear and panic he was feeling getting worse and worse. _Marshall, PLEASE be alright. Please. I...I...I can't live without you._

* * *

Marshall and Danielle continue to run, the little girl a little behind him. They suddenly came to a stop.

"Which way now?" Danielle asked, looking at the Dalmatian. Marshall looked at the little bird on his back.

"Hootie?" He asked. Marshall would've found his way out by sniffing, but knew the carbon monoxide had quickly filled the air, along with cyanide. The owl gave out a weak hooing noise, but couldn't do much else. "Looks like we're on our own." Marshall said, looking at the little girl.

Marshall knew it was dangerous to sniff. If he let a _single_ monocle of the fire inside his body, he was doomed to burning his lungs. _What's more important? Blacken lungs or getting both Lil Hootie and Danielle to safety?_ He thought and didn't even grace himself with an answer - he instead, sniffed.

Fire, smoke, and...a little bit of fresh air, coming from the east side of them.

"This way!" He said, coughing a little as he and Danielle raced down the forest once more. They soon came to a end of the hill, with fire up top. "We have to be careful as we walk across the edge." He said, and Danielle nodded.

"Right. Um, Marshall? Think I can hold the birdie for a bit?" Danielle asked. Marshall nodded his head, and Danielle gently picked up the bird. She reached down into her pocket and pulled out a small handkerchief, gently pressing it against the bird's mouth and nose. "There we go."

"You had that the whole time? Why didn't you use it?" Marshall asked. Danielle shrugged.

"I've...I've never really thought about me. Just the animals I'd rescued when I saw their scared look." She said, blushing lightly. Marshall stared at her and smiled.

"That's amazing." He said.

"I love animals. I don't want them to lose their homes." Danielle said, and Marshall couldn't help but find their situation just a bit...eh. _Don't wanna lose their homes and yet there's a fire._ He thought but didn't say anything.

As the two walked carefully around the edge, a large yet clearly random log was slowly breaking away from its place, and began rolling towards them. As the log picked up speed, Marshall paused when he heard the sound and looked up in horror. The log was clearly on a path, and as Marshall followed the path, his mouth dropped.

"DANIELLE LOOK OUT!" He shouted, running towards the girl and pushed her out of the way, just as the log made contact with the pup. Marshall let out a startled yelp as he and log began to fall from the cliff. Danielle screamed.

"MARSHALL!"


	26. Chapter 26

Marshall was falling. He didn't know how long he was falling, but if the Dalmatian had to guess, he would say about a minute or so of free-falling.

Oddly enough, he wasn't screaming; mostly because the side of his body where the log hit him hurt, and Marshall was in too much pain to care about his impendent death, or so he'd thought.

SPLASH!

Wet. He was wet.

Marshall blinked, confused, but immediately pulled himself together. Gasping, the Dalmatian pushed upwards, doggy paddling to the surface where he'd broke free and gasp again, for fresh air instead of water. Luckily, the river he'd landed in wasn't too rough, so he could easily swim back to shore, and lifted himself up from the ice freezing cold river. The Dalmatian coughed, squeezing his eyes shut.

 _Hurts...everything hurts...god my chest..._ He thought as he continued to cough, feeling his body sag a little. He didn't stop coughing until he felt something sticky yet wet fill his mouth, and when he'd spit it out, his eyes went wide at the dark fluid before him. _Blood...internal bleeding...log must've damage something in my body._ He thought, gasping once more and flinched. _It hurts to breath...why?_ The answer came to him just as quickly as the question.

Broken rib.

Marshall flinched again. _Can't be too bad...I'm still alive so maybe just a fracture?_ Marshall shook his head, but in doing so, pain exploded on his temple. Marshall whined, placing his head down. _I'm so tired...and hurt...I can't._ Marshall closed his eyes, letting his entire body sag.

For the first time since starting this rescue, Marshall was scared. He was alone, cold, tired, and injured - the four things you'd _never_ want to be in a situation like this. Adding to the list, Marshall feared he'll never make it out alive. _I hope Danielle and Lil Hootie did better than I could..._ He thought, coughing slightly and wheezed. The fire was still going around him, and Marshall knew if he didn't move his fate would be sealed.

When he thought about the kid he'd rescued, seeing her scared and teary eyes, another voice, much more deeper than his own, growled.

**Protect. You've sworn you'd protect.**

Marshall coughed again.

 _That's right,_ He thought, opening his eyes. _I did, didn't I? We all did, when we'd signed up for the PAW Patrol._ He thought back to his days when the PAW Patrol was first forming, when Ryder and he made an oath that all of the pups had to say, because they knew, nothing was more important than saving a life. _This was the job I'd signed up for, the job I choose to have. Make sense that if I'm willing to put myself through the fire and smoke to save someone else, I'll end up getting hurt too..._

**Get up. Get girl. Save and protect girl.**

Marshall coughed as he slowly started to rise. His body suddenly felt heavy, his legs too weak to stand on, but the Dalmatian had manage to tough it out. He was a little wobbly, and a little dizzy, but he'd manage to stand.

"Right. My job's not over. I'd promised Danielle I would take her to her parents. That's a promise I'm intending to keep." With a fierce look in his eyes, Marshall began running into the burning woods once more, ignoring the pain that was shooting up from just about everywhere. "Don't worry Danielle! I'm coming to find you and we'll make it out of this together, like I'd promised!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Skye was still searching when she spotted a little girl with something in her arms. She gasped and contacted Ryder.

"Ryder! There's a little girl in the forest! Looks like she's carrying something," When Skye zoomed in with her goggles, she gasped again. "It's Lil Hootie! But he's so still, I think the smoke's getting to him! And her!"

 _"Roger that Skye. We're on our way."_ Ryder said. Skye hummed a little as she realized the smoke was thinner here than the rest of the forest.

"Ryder...if you don't mind...I'm going to try to rescue her. The smoke's thinner, so it shouldn't be too much of a trouble to get her out." Skye said.

_"Alright, but be careful Skye. We'll continue searching for Marshall."_

"Roger. Over and out." Skye said, as she lowered the helicopter just as a little, so that the harness would reach the girl.

Meanwhile, Danielle was lost and confused and scared. She didn't know where she was going and because Lil Hootie had passed out around this time, she didn't have any guidance as to whether or not she was going the right way. Danielle whimpered a little just as something landed in front of her face.

"Buckle yourself in!" She heard someone say. Danielle didn't think twice - too scared to think anything otherwise - and buckled herself tightly into the harness. Slowly, Skye pulled her up, making Danielle whimper. "I know you're a little scared right now, but can you try to be brave for me? Just for a little while longer?"

Danielle held onto Lil Hootie tightly as she nodded.

"Good, now hang on. We're about to go for a ride." Skye said and started lifting up the helicopter. As soon as she saw the ground getting smaller, Danielle started to panic.

"I can't, I can't, I can't! I'm gonna fall!" She screamed, tears rapidly falling down her face.

"No you're not! You're in the harness as tight as possible. I promise you I won't let anything happen to you!" Skye said, not moving an inch as she tried to settle Danielle down. The girl continued to cry.

"M-Marshall! I want Marshall!" She screamed and Skye froze, but only a little while.

"I think Marshall would've wanted you to be brave." She said. _Oh jeez, don't talk about him like he's dead Skye!_ She thought as Danielle hiccupped.

"Y-yeah, he w-would. H-he promised he would t-take me to my mommy and d-daddy." She sobbed.

"Well, think it of this way - Marshall sent the message to me. I'll take you back to your parents, I promise." Skye said, smiling gently even though Danielle couldn't see it. The little girl sniffled.

"O-okay." She said and with that, Skye began to fly once again.

* * *

Marshall continued to find his way through the woods, vision getting blearier and his head was spinning. He coughed again and flinched once more.

"Ouch..." He whimpered, but stopped when he heard a noise. It was faint, and would probably be missed by human's ear, but Marshall could hear it just fine. Racing towards the sound, he gasped when he saw yet another little girl in the forest, who was slowly backing away from the fire that surrounded her. _Wait,_ he thought. _I know this girl. This is Alex's playmate and precious's owner, Emily!_ He thought.

He watched in horror as a tree branch fell in front of Emily, which was now on fire. Looking up, he'd noted that several tree branches were on fire and looking ready to fall...

Right on top of Emily.

No hesitation. No second thought. No nothing - he moved.

As soon as soon tree branch - thankfully not on fire - began to fall, he pushed Emily out the way, and groaned when the branch fell on top of him instead. This seem to agitate his wounds as Marshall coughed and spit out another liquid of blood. Emily gasped.

"Marshall!" She said, already running towards him but the fire got in her way. Marshall wiggled as he shouted out-

"GO! Leave me! I'll be fine!" Emily blinked.

"B-but!"

"Just do it!"

"I'm not leaving without you! You can get hurt!"

"So would you! Don't argue with me, move your butt!" Marshall shouted again, still wiggling. Emily huffed but did what she was told. There was a crack up above and Marshall looked to see yet another branch ready to fall - this time, it was on fire. The fear that gripped his heart tighten, and he immediately started to dig around him since the branch wouldn't move.

Another crack was heard, and Marshall flinched. _Come on, come on..._

When the hole was big enough, Marshall got out just in time as the branch fell on top of the other, both of which caught on fire.

Marshall grinned before he was hit with a dizzy spell.

"N-no...I...I can't..."

His body has had enough. Before he knew it, Marshall hit the ground, eyes closing and for a moment, his heart stopped beating. He let out a weak cough, trying his best to open his eyes.

_I'm sorry Danielle...I never manage to keep my promise..._


	27. Chapter 27

As soon as Danielle feet touch the ground, _far_ from the fire, she immediately unbuckled herself just as Skye landed her helicopter.

"DANIELLE!" Danielle looked up to see her parents and sister running towards her, both parents in tears. Danielle smiled, her eyes started to tear up herself, as she ran towards them and hugged her mother.

"Mommy!" She sobbed, crying as much as she possibly could. Despite her own tears, her mother hushed her while smoothing out her hair.

"Hush, Dani, everything's alright. Everything's going to be okay." She mumbled out, placing a kiss on top of her daughter's forehead. That's when Danielle broke away from her and showed her Lil Hootie.

"Mommy, help!" She said as her gasped. Lil Hootie cracked open his eyes just a little, before shutting them completely.

"Oh my goodness, this little bird does need help! I'll see what I can do. Can you hand him to me?" She asked, holding out her hands. Danielle slowly gave her the owl and as her mother ran towards the E.R truck, Skye started to speak.

"Danielle," The little girl turned to her, and noted the serious look the pup has on her face. "I know you're tired, overwhelm even, and you probably need to visit the E.R. I know you just want to go to bed. But I need you to answer something for me, okay?"

Danielle nodded.

"S-sure Skye. What do you need?" She asked. Skye continue to give her a stern look.

"Where is Marshall?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Chase continued to search for his missing teammate, until he'd let out a harsh cough.

"Chase? You okay?" Ryder asked. Neither couldn't stop the flinch at Ryder's raspy voice, thanks to the smoke.

"I'm fine," Chase said, equally as raspy. "I think I found Marshall's scent again."

"Good." Ryder said, smiling when he heard Skye's voice.

_"Ryder? Come in, Ryder! Can you read me?"_

"I read you Skye. What it is?"

_"It's about Marshall. It turns out that Marshall was really close to leaving the forest, but before he and Danielle could, a large log came rolling down and pushed Marshall off the edge."_

Both Chase and Ryder gasped, Chase worried even more so than he was.

"How fast was the log rolling?" Ryder asked.

 _"Probably fast enough to sustain injury. I can't get in contact with him either, he's either too deep in the forest or blacked out somewhere."_ Skye said, worry seeping into her voice. Chase let out a whimper, which made Ryder pat his head in comfort.

"Alright, we're on our way," _That's the third time I've said that._ Ryder thought, grimacing.

 _"Ryder, please hurry and save Marshall."_ Skye said, sounding like she was coming close to tears.

"Don't worry Skye, we'll find him." With that, Ryder ended the call.

"We're not too late, are we Ryder?" Chase asked, and for once, Ryder wasn't sure how to answer that. Normally, Ryder wanted to stay on the positive side, because none of them has ever given up before, but this time...

This time, they may just be a little under the time they need to reach Marshall.

"It's going to be fine, Chase. We'll find Marshall, we always do." Ryder said, coughing a little. Chase nodded, not completely convince, but continued to follow the trail. As they walked, Chase began to speak.

"Think Marshall will forgive me for the way I was acting?" He asked. Ryder blinked before realizing what Chase was talking about and bit his lip.

"I'm not sure. Marshall is a pretty forgiving person, but Chase," Chase looked at him. "You broke his heart. Broken hearts is what changes people, sometimes for good and sometimes for bad. I don't want to outright say that he wouldn't, but there's only so much that he can take. If Marshall felt like he was at the end of his rope, then..."

Ryder didn't have to say it, Chase had filled out the blanks.

"I love him," Chase said. "I love him. I know that now."

"Then, I hope we aren't too late."

* * *

Marshall coughed again, barely keeping his eyes open.

 _So,_ he thought, smiling weakly. _This is how it ends, huh? Broken rib, loose yet blacken lungs, and..._ Marshall bit his lip, feeling tears sting his eyes. _A broken heart. The last three words Chase ever said to me: I hate you. That is what is going to be in my memory forever? No 'I love you's, no hugs, no laughter...just I hate you._ Marshall whined, wiping away the tears.

"Get it together Marshall, that's crazy talk." He muttered.

_But it's true._

Yeah, it was. That was something Marshall couldn't deny, even if he'd wanted to.

_Chase...just promise me you won't forget me..._

With that final thought, Marshall closed his eyes, dead to the world.

Little did he know, that a rescue helicopter was just above him, shooting down a ladder next to him, and was sending a person down to pick him up.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chase and Ryder were getting close to where Marshall would've been when they got the call.

_"Team A to Ryder, this is Team A to Ryder. Come in, Ryder! Can you read me?"_

"This is Ryder to Team A. What's wrong?"

 _"We have found the Dalmatian named Marshall. From the look of things, he's pretty banged up, but should be fine if we hurry. Where are you guys so we can pick you up?"_ Asked the captain. Ryder and Chase looked around and noticed a big oak tree that has yet to catch on fire.

"We're up from where you'd last seen Marshall, where the big oak tree is. Do you see us?" Ryder asked. Suddenly there was buzzing and both Chase and Ryder looked up to see the helicopter flying towards them.

 _"Copy that. Sending down a latter now."_ With that, the call ended. When the helicopter got close enough, the ladder had fell down. Chase immediately jumped into Ryder's arms and the ten year old began to climb up. As they did, the helicopter began to fly away. When Ryder and Chase made it to the top, the German Shepherd let out a whine when he'd saw Marshall, unconscious and covered in soot.

"His breathing is irregular, and I can feel a bone poking out on his side." One of the teammates said, placing an oxygen mask on Marshall's muzzle.

"Skye said he was hit by a log."

"Must've been a real heavy one, I think one of his lungs got knocked loose. We need to take him to the hospital." The man said.

"Katie can help, she's dealt with type of stuff before." Ryder said.

"Alright, take us to this Katie."

With that, Ryder began to give directions to Katie's grooming shop.


	28. Chapter 28

As the helicopter began to land, Ryder, Chase, and a few others hopped out, making sure to keep Marshall attached to his mask. That's when Katie ran out of her shop.

"How is he?" She asked as they rushed into the shop.

"Bad, but not critical. We need surgery performance, stat!" One of the members, female said. Katie nodded.

"Right. Mom's in the back, ready for him. If we _do_ need to do surgery, we're going to need one more for the job. Who here knows medical treatment?" She asked.

"I do." The female said. Katie nodded her head again.

"Come with me." She said and with that, both of them rushed into the back room with Marshall.

"We're going back to the forest to get that fire under control." The pilot said. Ryder gave him his confirmation and with that, the rest of the team went back to the helicopter. Not long after they left, the rest of the pups showed up and raced over to Ryder and Chase.

"Ryder! Is Marshall okay?"

"How is he?"

"He's still...you know...with us?" Rocky asked, whimpering at the thought. When Rocky had said that, Chase felt his entire body froze and before he could stop himself, he'd snapped.

"He's fine! Katie's gonna take care of him, and make sure he's okay! Marshall would never die on us!" He shouted, ignoring the tears in the corner of his eyes. The pups and Ryder looked at him in surprise.

"Chase..." Skye whispered, but Chase looked back at the building before him, hurt and confused, before running away from the group. "Chase!"

"Let him have a moment, Skye. I think he really needs it." Ryder said.

"B-but, Chase _is_ wight, wight? Mawshall's gonna be okay...isn't he?" Zuma asked, looking at their owner. Ryder bit his lip.

"We'll just have to see what Katie says. It could take an hour or so before we reach a verdict." Ryder said, and pups let a small whimper at the thought. Ryder just gave them a small smile. "Come on, let's wait inside."

With that, the group began moving inside.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chase was in the playground, by the swings. The sun was slowly going down after today's work, and wind began to pick up, making it chilly even for Chase's thick fur coat.

His mind was in a turmoil; he didn't know his right from his left, his up from his down, and he was _hurting_ and Chase had never, _ever_ been so scared to lose another pup in his life - not even for Skye.

The German Shepherd whined, thinking back on Marshall's hurt face, the tears of betrayal, and look that says he's done with everything. Chase sobbed, the tears spilling over.

"Oh sugar," Came a voice he knew all too well. "It's breakin' my heart to see chu so sad-lookin'."

"Came to rub it in face, did you?" Chase asked, his tone not unkind. "Tell me that I was wrong, and you were right the whole time."

"Neva, sugar. I'd neva do such a thing, not to somebody who's already broken." Sasha said, sitting down next to Chase. The German Shepherd let out a sniffle and for a moment, there was silence between the two dogs.

"...Why did it take me so long to see my true feelings for Marshall?" He asked, mainly for himself, but Sasha answered anyway.

"Pride is just one of those things many people fall victim of. They don't know it, but pride is the reason most people refuse to see the truth, deny which is true and turn a blind's eye on every problem they face. There are two sayings for this: Pride before the fall, and Ignorance is bliss. One of those is true while the other is not always correct." She said, before looking at Chase. "Chu, sugar, are a mix bag. Chu have chur pride and chur stubbornness. Chu refused to see the truth right in front of chu, and continue on thinking that Skye was the one for chu, that chu'd loved her, when in truth, chu don't. Not anymore, at least. It had to take both Marshall's very life and chur feral side to get chu to see that."

"B-but _why,_ though?" Chase whined.

"That is something chu have to answer to churself. I cannot provide all the answers." Sasha said, making Chase scoffed. Once again, there was silence as the wind blew passed them, and Chase shivered.

"Tell me more about my natural instincts..." Chase said. Sasha merely raised an eyebrow before she'd spoke.

"Our instincts are not unlike wild animals, even for humans. We all have the need to survive, to continue our heredity, and to protect what is rightfully ours. Domestic as we are, these are the instincts that were not breed out of us, especially with chur kind, the German Shepherd. Chu are one of many dogs that are closely related to our ancestors, the Wolves, and, from what I can see from chur actions, chu are the Alpha of chur pack." Sasha said. Chase stared at her as she continued. "Our natural instincts kicks in when they are most needed. Our fight or flight senses, so to speak. Should we run from the danger? Or should we try to fight it?"

"Marshall, I believe, has experience that when he was in the fire. He'd rescued two little girls who were danger, and an owl. He knew the consequences, yet still, was able to choose their lives over his. Part of that is from chur training, is it not?"

"Yeah," Chase croaked. "Yeah, we all are."

"There is no doubt Marshall did what he was trained to do," Sasha said. "But I think, Marshall had saw the kids and owl as young pups, lost and separated from their pack. As such, he'd responded in way that only a dog knows how - he took care of them to the best of his abilities."

Hearing, Chase cracked a smile, despite his tears.

"Marshall always had a big heart. It really shouldn't be too surprising that course he sees kids and baby animals that way." Chase chuckled. Sasha smiled.

"It's one of those things chu love about him, ain't that right sugar?" She asked. Hearing the question, Chase paused, slowly getting back into reality, that Marshall was laying in bed, hooked to a machine while Katie and rest of them worked on his body.

"...Yeah." He whispered. Sasha looked at him for a bit before smiling gently.

"Chase, chu said it churself - Marshall has a big heart. He'll forgive chu." She said. Chase looked at her.

"How do you know?" He asked. The smile on her face grew.

"Really curious? Look up Janie The Magician. All chur answers will be there."

* * *

About time Chase came back, it was already night out. He thought about going back to the lookout, but realize the light to Katie's grooming shop was still on and so, he'd looked inside. When he came in, he saw Ryder and the pups in the corner of the room, cuddle together, fast asleep. He blinked before glancing over to the left side of him, seeing a light from another doorway, and made his way over. Nudging the door slightly with his nose, Chase peeped inside.

Katie was fast asleep near the table where Marshall was suppose to be. Realizing he couldn't see if he was still there or not - but judging by the sound from the heart monitor, he was, Chase slowly crept in and made his way to the table. Without waking either Katie or Marshall, Chase looked over his best friend and gasped softly, tears slowly appearing in his eyes.

Marshall's operation was a success by the look of things, but the poor pup look so _small_ and helpless and weak. The usually hyper-energetic pup was so still, so unmoving, that it kind of unnerved Chase a bit.

"Oh Marshall, I'm so sorry. I've hurt you so bad that now your life is on the line because of me." He whispered, sobbing a little. He gently touched Marshall's forehead with his own, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Please come back to us. For me. I'm sorry."

_"CHAAAAAAASE!"_

_Chase, who had been sleeping his newly design pup house, was startled awake, jumping a foot in the air, and started to look around for whoever broke his peace. He didn't have to look for very long, however, as Marshall came running towards him, face flush. It probably wouldn't have bothered the German Shepherd so if he wasn't clued on to certain small things._

_First of all, Marshall looked hurt and humiliated. That alone told Chase that something was wrong. Also, Marshall was running towards him without a single misstep so that right there was another clue. Besides that, the Dalmatian looked as though he was coming close to tears, and that was something you just do not do to Chase's Beta._

_"What's wrong, Marshall?" Chase asked, feeling anger and possessiveness and protection stir inside his chest. Marshall huffed, the blush on his face getting darker as more tears swell in his eyes._

_"It's those dogs again! At the park! They keep teasing me, calling me a cow, and, and, and, and...look!" Marshall pulled his collar far enough for Chase to see a mark and the German Shepherd let out the most **hideous** of noises anyone has ever heard from any animal, let alone a dog._

_Chase glared hate at the mark on Marshall's shoulder. To the untrained eye and to those who didn't know better, including Marshall, one would think it was just a marking that showed physical violence between two dogs, not big deal if you didn't know what a mark to the shoulder meant in a dog's world. But Chase knew. Oh, he knew what that meant - mostly because he's seen that mark on his mother's shoulder, and had been the reason why he and his siblings were here in the first place._

_That was a **mating mark**. Typically, mating marks happen when...you know, two dogs get together and well... Not a lot of dogs do it, mostly because the majority of males just hit and run, more interested in continuing their lines than their actual mate. Some dogs, when they are in love and mate for the first time, do it to show that this person, usually female, is taken and therefore could not be mate with another male._

_And to think, someone had put one on Marshall...they weren't even the correct age yet!_

_Chase growled._

_"Who?"_

_Meanwhile, back at the park, three dogs - a Rottweiler, Doberman, and a Pitbull - were having a grand ol' time, laughing to themselves when a voice caught their attention._

_"Dylan..." Chase growled. The Doberman, Dylan, perked up and smirked at the younger pup._

_"Yes?" He stretched out the word, letting his tongue roll, causing his groupies to chuckle._

_"You put a mating mark on my friend's shoulder?" Chase asked, rolling his head over to Marshall. The Doberman looked over at the Dalmatian, sneered - which caused Marshall to whimper - and looked back at Chase._

_"So what if I did? He's nothing but a who-"_

_Before he could stop it, Chase was at the Doberman's throat, ignoring the screams of the locals and even Marshall, who'd begged him to let him go before they got into trouble. About time anything was done, however, the two had finished fighting, the Doberman more injured than Chase was. Marshall looked at him concern, just as Chase spat out blood._

_"Let that be a lesson, Dobbie," Chase growled as the Doberman whimpered, snarling with just a little bit of strength he has. "NEVER, in the history, of ever, take what is mine."_


	29. Chapter 29

Three days.

It's been three days since Marshall has been emitted into Katie and her mom's care. Since then, the Dalmatian hadn't moved an inch, neither improving or going critical. Chase suppose that's a good thing, but it still sent fear down the Shepherd's spine since it meant that the Dally wouldn't wake up. The others were worried, they all were, and stopped by every so often to check up on him.

Chase, more or less, went everyday if he could. Likewise with Ryder, Chase had never left the Dalmatian's side, keeping an ear out on Marshall's heart monitor. Katie had once said, while they were trying to drain Marshall's lungs from the fluid he'd swallowed (blood and water, she said), his heart nearly gave out and it frighten just about everyone in the room when she gave them the results.

Marshall had suffered severed burns on his lungs, to the point where Katie would need to keep an eye out in case Marshall starts developing any symptoms of something much more worse. The rib Marshall cracked open came from the middle part of the cavity, which explained why Marshall was having trouble breathing. The fact that the log Marshall was hit by had enough force to not only break a rib, but also enough to cause Marshall's left lung to move slightly out of place had honestly terrified both Katie and Ryder. Katie had explained that if a log was heavy enough, had enough speed, and the height of the hill was high enough, it could easily crush a person's lungs in, causing a flail chest injury, something like a car accident. Marshall had been lucky that the log hit him on the side and not in front with full force.

Thinking about what could've been, Chase shivered.

The rest of his injuries had been minor, in comparison - his kidneys were bruised, but nothing a little ice pack can't handle for the swelling. The burn mark on his fur was treated, the scar on Marshall's paw that came from Crystal had reopened, so Katie treated it again. Then, there was the gash on his forehead. Not wide enough to worry, but not small enough to let go either. Katie fixed that too.

Honestly, Chase was thanking Katie and her mom the whole time he'd visited. If it hadn't been for them, Marshall would never be here, safe and sound, getting the treatment he'd deserve.

 _Then again,_ Chase thought, grimly. _If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be here in the first place._ Chase sighed, looking at the still pup on the table. He let out a whimper, ears falling flat.

"I'm sorry, Marshall. I never meant for this to happen to you." He said, but there was no answer. He whined again. "God, I never thought I'd have to do this again. Being here without you, I mean. I miss your laughs, your smiles, your corny jokes, and your overall good attitude. I know I don't deserve you, after everything I've put you through, but, if you can hear me, just know that I love you. So love you so freaking much, and I'm just sorry that it has to come to this."

"Chase?" Chase looked up to see Katie standing there, looking at him in concern. "Are you alright?"

Chase slowly looked at the ground before turning back to Marshall. "Yeah..."

Katie walked over to him, placing something down as she sat in her chair.

"You must be really worried, huh?" She asked, placing a hand on Chase's back. Chase nodded.

"Yeah..." He said again. The two were silent for a moment before Chase spoke. "Katie? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything Chase." Katie said, smiling a little.

"Do...do you think Marshall would forgive me? After everything I've done to him? I mean, I was horrible and yet he loved me. I don't deserve it, I know I don't and yet..." Chase started to cry again. "Yet, he loves me. I don't understand..."

"Well," Katie started. "When it comes to feelings, there's never a reason _why_ , especially when it comes to love. I don't know, it's like our brains have been reprogrammed to do whatever it is to please our companions. Is it a good thing? Sometimes, not always. But if it makes someone else happy, then why complain?"

"That sounds scary."

"It is, but when you love someone there is _no_ logic behind it. You can't help who you fall in love with or who you like." Katie said, but upon seeing Chase's dubious look, the blonde sighed. "Okay, so maybe I'm not explaining it right. How about, I tell you a story based on a real event? Will that make you understand more?"

When Chase nodded, Katie smiled.

"Once upon a time, there lived this shy little boy. This little boy didn't have a lot of friends, and everyone he knew picked on him. He couldn't tell his parents, however, as his parents were very high maintenance. They expected the little boy to do everything correctly, and had no time to listen to their son's complaints. One day, during a typical recess for the boy, a girl came up to him. She had long, golden brown hair, freckles, pinkish pale, and had emerald green eyes. To the boy, she was beautiful. Unlike all the other girls the boy known, this girl didn't play with Barbie dolls or have tea parties. She liked the outdoors, climbing on trees, and skateboarding. She asked him if he wanted to be friends, and he had said yes. Since then, the little boy and the little girl grew up together, as the best of friends. She protected him from the bullies, and her care-free spirit allowed the boy to open up more. Slowly, they began to fall in love with each other. Then, one day, the boy's parents caught wind of the little girl their son was hanging around with, and order him to stay away from her. When they'd found out about the girl, they decided to take matters to their own hands and paid another girl's parents to spend time with their son. When the boy told the girl they couldn't hang out anymore, she cried. She told him that they could fight them, that if he really loved her, he would fight for her. Do you know what he did?" Katie looked at Chase.

"What?"

"He didn't. He was too scared to face his parents, so he ended their friendship. The little girl had been heartbroken, and had watched in the shadows as he and this new girl, blonde hair with blue eyes, started being friends. It had hurt her, seeing how fake their relationship was, and yet the boy was happy. It broke her heart, so she decided it was best to leave him alone. Twenty years into the future, and the boy was starting to have regrets. The supposed love he and the new girl shared was not love at all, and to his shock, he had no feelings for her. In the end, it had hurt them both, because they are now in a situation where they _can't_ back out, less they want to be disowned by their parents. When he remembered his _true_ love, it broke the boy's heart even more. Because she was the one he'd wanted, the one he could've loved, and yet, he let her get away. It was this regret that he lives with everyday, and nothing, not even a child, was going to change that."

When Katie ended the story, Chase started to pull the pieces together.

"Katie? Was that the story of your parents?" He asked. Katie smiled sadly.

"Yeah. Everyday, my dad would tell me the story of how he and her met. I never knew what her name was, and have always wondered what would've happened if my dad stood up to his parents. Would I even be here right now?" She asked, feelings tears stinging her eyes before wiping them away. "He loves me. I know that. But the same can't be said for my mother, and the only thing I wish for, for both of my parents, is to get a happy ending they deserved. They could've gotten a divorce, but his parents don't believe in divorces - that the person you'd marry is yours for life. They are very uppity about it."

Chase didn't say anything after that.

"I believe in my heart that Marshall still loves you. Maybe you don't see it because of your previous actions tell you otherwise, but if you know Marshall like the back of your hand, then you would know Marshall's not the one to hold a grudge. If he loves you, I mean really loves you, he'll forgive you. For everything." Katie said, before getting up and walking out the door.

Chase watched her go and turned to the Dalmatian.

"I hope you heard all of that," He said, nuzzling Marshall. "I don't ever want to be trapped in a loveless relationship, especially if it's because you've been taken away from me. And I'm pray that you'll find it in your heart to forgive me, to love me again, if you don't already."


	30. Chapter 30

It's been a full week since Marshall's daring rescue that landed him in Katie's make-shift hospital. Surprisingly, there weren't too many rescues that happen during the absence of Marshall. It was like the town knew rescues aren't same without Marshall, so they tried to keep as little as possible from occurring, though, they didn't stop completely. Chase had wondered if they'd secretly knew, but merely brushed it aside as coincidence.

The weather too has been acting up. Some days, it was nice and sunny, and for others, it wasn't. Rocky complained about having too much rain and Rubble had said that the sky was crying for Marshall. Skye, the pup, broke down in tears when Rubble said that, and Ryder scolded the English Bulldog for thinking such a way. Rubble hadn't meant that Marshall was dying, of course, but he'd simply said that because it didn't look like the Dalmatian was getting better any time soon. Ryder had told them that Katie and her mother was working on him as much as they possibly can, but there's little for them to do and instead, it was all up to Marshall.

 _Marshall_ has to make the decision on whether or not he wants to live, and it hurts to know that if Dalmatian had truly given up, he would've by now.

Chase sighed, stopping his vehicle. It's been a stressful day, having to finish the last rescue he'd been on, and Chase knew he couldn't return to the lookout like he was. Chase was a patient dog, but ever since Marshall became basically a vegetable, his patients and understanding was becoming thinner. Everyone could see it, and Chase had nearly bitten a man's head off when he wouldn't shut up about the duties of the PAW Patrol and how glad he was that they were there. It was a simple compliment, Chase knew, but these days, Chase didn't have the time to listen to them anymore.

Ryder had told him to fix his attitude before he came home, so that's exactly what Chase was doing.

Getting out of his truck, Chase began to walk around for a bit, memories bypassing him as he went. The playground was where Chase had told Marshall about his dreams of becoming a spy, and Marshall had encouraged him by pretending to be a bad guy he was chasing, using the play set as dangerous obstacles. The park had been the place where Chase stood up to Marshall's bullies, especially when he'd caught wind of the mating mark (and Chase was thankful that, as the years went by, the mark disappeared). The beach was where Marshall had swallowed a bunch of salt water and had gotten himself sick because of it, and Chase had been by his side when the Dalmatian couldn't stop throwing up.

Seeing these memories being played out in front of him, Chase stopped.

"It was there all along, and I didn't see it." Chase whispered, the wind picking up. He could feel tears pricking his eyes and he closed them. "Was I wrong? Was it really Skye that I loved first?"

 _Gonna make it hard to tell you that I'm leavin'_  
Now that I know just how much you care  
You finally gave me one good reason  
Not to go, but being alone is my worst fear  
And staying here is my worst fear

Chase blinked before he looked up to see a man sitting on a bench, slowly rocking himself as he listen to his music, singing quietly. Chase slowly walked over to him.

"Um, excuse me?" The man blinked and looked down at the pup. He smiled as he took out his ear plug.

"Hey. You're Chase, right?" He asked. Chase nodded slowly.

"How did you kno-"

"Oh, I know all about the PAW Patrol. Huge fan. Name's Jesse, by the way." The man, Jesse, said, holding out his hand. Chase gave out his paw and shook it with him.

"Nice to meet you."

"Same to you. Now, considering what you guys been through recently, may I ask how's Marshall, was it?" Jesse asked, looking concern. Chase had to swallow a lump that formed in his throat, blinking away his tears.

"Y-yeah," Chase said. "He's in Katie's care right now. Still hasn't woken up yet, but...I don't think he wants to."

"What do you mean?" Jesse asked, raising an eyebrow. Without thinking about Chase spilled out his guts to the man, dating all the way back to when Chase started to feel weird around Marshall up til now, where Marshall was in the position of waking up, but for some reason, he couldn't.

"It's my fault, I think. I drove him away, and maybe that was the last thing he needed before he..." Chase said, but Jesse shook his head.

"Chase, you can't go thinking that. If it were any other pup, they would've done the same thing. He's a rescue pup, first and foremost. It was written, somewhere in the contract, maybe not literal, that when it comes to fire hazards and other safety hazards, a firemen's job is to secure people's safety. Things like that are usually unspoken when it comes to jobs like yours and Marshall's. So, you can't blaming yourself for what happened. Nothing you can do can prevent Marshall from getting hurt during a fire, no matter how big or small it is." He said. "Secondly, I don't think Marshall has completely given up yet. Like you'd said, if he did, Marshall would have long gone by now, and it's only been a week. From the wounds he'd suffered, I'm not too surprise about him not waking up. A broken rib is no laughing matter, heck, chest injuries are the worst. I had a broken rib once, two in fact. Took like a whole month to heal, and while so, I was in constant pain. So let Marshall take all the time he needs to heal."

Chase flinched.

"Would he be in pain too?" Chase asked.

"Maybe, considering where he'd cracked a rib, I'd doubt he could take a breath without feeling a stab or two." Jesse said. "Thirdly, if Marshall loves you, he'll forgive you."

"You're the third person who said that." Chase muttered, and Jesse smiled a little.

"Well, maybe you should start believing it. It sounds like the only person who doesn't believe it, is you." He said. Chase bit his lip. "Chase, trust me, trust Katie, and trust this Sasha person you're talking to. If we believe it, then so should you."

Chase sighed.

"You're right," Chase said. "You guys are totally right, I...I don't know. I guess I just can't forgive myself, so I can't really expect Marshall to."

"Then, it's a good thing Marshall isn't you, no offense." Jesse said, causing Chase to laugh.

"Right. I should go, Ryder might been searching for me."

"Alright. Take care, Chase." Jesse said. As Chase walked over to his truck, a thought came to him. _Maybe I can visit him? Katie should still be open._ He jumped into his truck, and turned around. It didn't take long for Chase to get there, and when he realized the shop was still open, Chase pressed on the window.

"Hello? Katie? You in here?"

Silence.

Chase wondered if Katie had stepped out and before he could walk back out, not wanting to be rude, a voice called out.

"C-Chase?"


	31. Chapter 31

Chase felt his heart stop as the voice he'd longed to hear called out again.

"C-Chase? Is that you?"

 _Marshall._ He thought turning right back around and running towards the back of the room. Meanwhile, Marshall kept an ear out as he heard soft padded paws running in his general direction, and when the door creaked open, Marshall slowly turned his head to see Chase standing there, looking relieved and close to tears.

"Marshall...you're okay!" Chase said, running towards him and jumping into Katie's seat. The Dalmatian smiled weakly.

"N-nice to see you too." He said. Chase just smiled, despite the tears running down his face.

"How long were you awake? Or did you just get up?" Chase asked.

"Actually, I just woke up a few minutes ago, before you got here. Katie went out to get more ice for my kidneys." Marshall said, closing his eyes just for a little while.

"How you're feeling?"

"Honestly?" Marshall started, cracking one eye open to look at Chase. "Everything hurts, especially my chest. It feels like it's on fire, and my lips are so dry, and my throat feels scratchy."

"Yeah, Katie said you'd broken a rib during the fall. They had to do surgery because the log knocked one of your lungs loose." Chase said, smiling a little. Marshall smiled back and then there was silence. The two pups were looking away, both lost in their thoughts. Chase really wanted to speak, but he couldn't find the right words. Marshall was wondering what was going to happen between them now.

Before either could do anything, Katie came back with a bag of ice.

"Oh, Chase. You're here." She said, gently placing the bag over Marshall's side. The Dalmatian hissed, instinctively pulling up his leg, before he calm down and relaxed.

"Yeah, I came by to see how Marshall was doing." Chase said, and Marshall looked over at him. _You care about me?_ He thought.

"Marshall's doing fine. In a couple more weeks, he should be good to go. But he'll have to come back here regularly, to make sure the burns don't agitate his lungs or worse." Katie said, writing something down. Chase nodded and looked over at the Dalmatian.

"I'm guessing bed rest for those weeks?" He asked.

"Yep, and plenty of water too. Be careful though, as a single breath would feel like a sting with a broken rib." Katie said.

"There's nothing you can do about that?" Chase asked.

"Broken ribs usually heals on their own, but if it doesn't and Marshall's having pain, we'll see what we can do." Katie answered. Chase nodded in understanding before he looked at Marshall.

"Marshall? You're going to be okay?" He said. Marshall coughed and smiled.

"I'll be fine, Chase. Thanks for caring." The Dalmatian said, causing Chase to blush. When the German Shepherd looked over to Katie, he was surprise to see the blonde giving him an expected look. At first, Chase was at a loss before he remembered what he was going to say and blush even more.

"M-Marshall? Can we talk?" Chase asked. Marshall looked at him.

"Sure Chase. I think we kind of need to anyway." He said.

"Well, it's going to have to wait. Marshall needs all the rest he can get." Katie said, brushing her fingers on Marshall's head, which caused the Dalmatian to hum and close his eyes.

"When is he going to be release?" Chase asked.

"Probably tomorrow if no difficulties appears before then." Katie said, refilling Marshall's fluid bag. Chase sighed, turning around.

"Alright, see you tomorrow Marshall. Get some rest, please." The German Shepherd said. Marshall hummed again, already on his way to sleep. Seeing how drowsy Marshall was made Chase smile and walk out the door. When he reached the lookout, the pups and Ryder looked at him.

"Chase! Where were you? We were getting worried." Skye said.

"Sorry, was just clearing my head for a bit. Got some good news though; Marshall is awake and Katie said he'll probably be released tomorrow if no complications during the night." Chase said, causing the others to cheer.

"That's awesome!" Zuma said.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to have Marshall back." Rocky said, smiling.

"I miss him so much." Rubble said and Skye nuzzled him in comfort.

"We all do, but he's going to be back. Soon." Ryder said, smiling. "Well, it's time for bed pups. You know what to do."

"Night Ryder!" They all said, and as they all went to their pup houses, Chase paused and looked behind him. He stared at the grooming shop.

"Sweet dreams Marshall."

Meanwhile, Marshall smiled.


	32. Chapter 32

The very next day, Ryder and the pups went to visit Marshall. They all were very excited about Marshall waking up, and would've crowded the pup had Katie not told them to give Marshall some space.

"We're so glad you're okay Marshall!" Rubble said.

"Yeah. Going into the elevator without falling over is nice, but also very weird. I'd rather be knocked down again." Rocky said, causing the group to laugh, until Marshall let out a harsh cough.

"Easy there, don't want to disturb your wounds." Katie said, patting Marshall on the head. Marshall gave Katie a thankful smile before realizing how tired the blonde looked. She looked like she was about to pass out any second.

"Katie? How long did you sleep?" Marshall squeezed, causing everyone to look at the blonde in concern. Seeing this, Katie blushed.

"Not often. I was too busy taking care of you, making sure you were okay." She said. Ryder frowned.

"That's not good. You shouldn't have neglected your own health Katie." He said, causing Katie to blush even more.

"Ryder's right, you're no good to us if you're passed out on the floor because of lack of sleep. You should go take a nap." Marshall said, causing Katie to smile lightly.

"Taking orders from a wounded patient. What are the chances?" Katie said, causing them to laugh again. Once Ryder - and the pups, but mostly Ryder - convinced that Katie should go lay down, they turned to Marshall.

"You ready to go home?" Ryder asked, and Marshall smiled.

"Am I ever!"

And with that, Ryder picked up Marshall after unhooking everything attached to him, and began to carry him to the lookout.

"Don't forget the pump!" Katie called out, making everyone confuse.

"Pump?" Marshall thought about it before his eyes went wide.

"Asthma pump!" He cried out.

"On it!" Chase said, rushing back to Katie's shop and then coming back out with a bag in his mouth.

"Good boy Chase. Now, let's get Marshall home and fast." Ryder said. It didn't take long for them to reach the lookout and Ryder had gently placed Marshall on a bean bag, attaching a mask over his face and then started to the machine on. Marshall sighed in relief. "Now, because you're injured Marshall, you're going to have to stay off some missions for a while."

"Aww..." Marshall gasped, ears slinking downwards.

"So, who's going to take Marshall's place Ryder?" Skye asked, looking at their owner. Ryder thought about it.

"Chase? Would you be willing to help Marshall out?" He asked, looking at the German Shepherd. Chase blinked before his eyes went wide.

"I-I don't know if I can..."

"It's okay! I'll teach you the basics. It's something similar to your own work, Chase." Ryder said, giving Chase an encouraging smile. The Shepherd looked over at Marshall, who too gave him a pleading smile.

"Please? For me?" Marshall asked, coughing at the end. Chase bit his lip.

"Okay, I'll do it." He said, and everyone cheered again. Marshall let out another cough, and Ryder patted him on his back.

"Before I forget, Marshall, what you did was very brave of you. You put others before yourself and while you didn't leave the fire unscathed, it _did_ save a few lives because of it. Lil Hootie is now in the hands of an animal rescuer, who's nursing him back to health." Ryder said.

"Wait, what about Lil Hootie's mother?" Chase asked, worried. Ryder looked at Marshall, who shrugged.

"Didn't see her. Lil Hootie was on his own, unfortunately." Marshall said, frowning.

"You...you don't think...Lil Hootie's mom is...?" Rubble started, looking around at the others. It was silence after that, the pups looking close to tears before Ryder decided to change the subject.

"Anyway, Danielle made it out of the forest and is reunited with her family, as you'd promised." Ryder said.

"I helped keep it." Skye said, smiling at Marshall.

"And Emily?" Marshall asked, looking at Ryder.

"She's safe too. In fact, she's in school now, telling everyone how you'd rescued her." He responded, smiling, before patting Marshall on his head. "I couldn't be more proud if I'd tried. You rescued two people and an owl from that fire. What a good pup."

Marshall smiled before letting out a yawn.

"Surprisingly, moving from Katie's shop to here made me tired. Mind if I take a nap?" He asked.

"Sure." Ryder said. Marshall gave him a grin before placing his head down and went to sleep. It didn't take long and Ryder turned to look at the others. "Okay pups, if you're going to play, do it quietly."

"Roger that, Ryder!" Rubble whispered back.

"Ryder? What about the movie?" Skye questioned.

"I told them what happened. They said they'll put the movie on hold for as long as we need it to be. Unless, you guys decided to drop out." Ryder said. The pups looked at each other, wondering what to do.

"We'll think about it." Skye said. Ryder nodded and the pups began to walk out the lookout.

"Come on Skye, let's play tug-of-war!" Rubble said, already running towards the toy. Skye giggled and began chasing after the bulldog, grabbing the end of the toy, and began to pull.

"Wanna go down to the playgwound, Wocky?" Zuma asked.

"Sure!" Rocky said, and was about to follow the Lab when he paused and looked back at Chase, who was staring at the ground. "Chase? You coming?"

"No thanks. I've got some thinking to do." Chase said. Rocky was about to go when Chase called out to him. "Rocky? I need to know. How long have you known about Marshall liking me in that way?"

"Not too long, I suppose," Rocky said, turning around to face Chase. "He just recently told me after things started to get weird around you two. But, Marshall had guessed that he liked you for a very long time."

"How long?"

"Since the Fall Festival, but I think it's much deeper than that. I mean," Rocky sighed, walking up to Chase. "Come on, Chase. You and Marshall had been friends _way_ before any of us were around. With the way you had been acting, I'd assume you two were already together."

Chase blushed.

"W-what? Where did you get that-"

"From your actions. You protected Marshall from every little thing that's out to get him, stayed close to his side, even _when_ we had our vehicles, always checked up on him first when Marshall was stumbling across everything, groom him when he didn't need to be groomed and basically...doing everything a mate would do. I'm not sure if you did it on purpose, because heck, at one point, you'd called Marshall yours whenever Zuma and I tried to play with him. You acted as if we were going to take him away from you. Do you remember that?"

Judging by how red his face was and had the look only one would assume was lost, Rocky had to guess that the answer was no.

"This was all before Skye had came. Well, all except the possessiveness. Where that came from, I have no clue, but boy, were you selfish when it came to Marshall." Rocky would have laughed if the situation of the conversation wasn't so serious. "You and Marshall were so close, you would've need a crow bar to drive you two apart. But that changed when Skye appeared on the scene."

Rocky paused.

"I don't want to place the blame on Skye. It's not her fault for your feelings of her. But as I've said, you and Marshall were close. I just think you've forgotten _how_ close you two really were."

With that, Rocky began to walk away. Zuma, who had been waiting for him, raised an eyebrow but Rocky just shook his head, gave him a little nuzzle, and began walking with him. Chase watched the two, feeling queasy all of sudden. It was at this point Chase asked himself...

When Marshall gets back on his feet and doesn't need the pump anymore, what was he going to say to the Dalmatian who apparently loved him since they were kids - er, babies by comparison?

Chase _definitely_ needed a speech to prepare.

Meanwhile, while lost somewhere in his mind, Marshall had, too, came up with a conclusion on what to do with Chase.


	33. Chapter 33

Two months.

It's been two months since the forest fire, and since then, Marshall was slowly getting back to his feet. Of course, his chest still hurt because of the broken rib, but as Katie had pointed out - as she was checking up on him regularly for his lungs and chest pains - they were healing just fine. To make sure nothing bad happens, though, Katie had prescribed antibiotics that he had to take twice a day, one in the morning and one before bed.

Meanwhile, the pups had decided the show must go on and decided to stay in the movie. Rachael had been thrilled and starting tomorrow, they will begin shooting again. She had said that they were staying for three more days before they had to leave for Hollywood, so the production had to be done soon since they were on a time limit.

But honestly, Chase could care less about the movie.

The whole time Marshall had been stuck in the lookout again, the Dalmatian had been, well, ignoring him. Whenever Chase tried to make conversation, the Dally would just block him out, pretending he was listening, when he really wasn't. It was frustrating on Chase's part, because he had said that they needed to talk and he'd agreed and now that Marshall was feeling better, it was like he didn't remember that part.

Chase huffed.

The German Shepherd wondered if he had pushed him too far. It would certainly explain why Marshall was acting like the way he was, and while Chase knew Marshall would never flat out forgive the guy, he had assume Marshall would at least have the decency to hear him out first before coming to a decision on whether or not he wanted Chase back into his life.

Chase looked at the ceiling of his pup house.

"No. I can't keep pretending that there isn't a problem anymore," Chase said, growling to himself. "There is and if I have to force Marshall to sit down and listen, whether he's injured or not, so be it."

With that, Chase got up and walked out of his pup house. He had noted that Marshall was not asleep, as he should be, but Chase was glad for it. He was about to go in, but froze. _What am I going to say?_ He thought.

 **Listen.** A voice growled in his mind and Chase knew it was his inner mind talking.

_Listen? Listen to what?_

**Mate. Listen to Mate. Mate's been hurt because of ignorance and selfish pride, give him a chance to speak his mind.** He growled and Chase paused.

_He's more than just a mate, isn't he?_

**He's Beta. He's lover. He's everything. Don't let him go.** Chase took a deep breath after that and walked into the lookout. Marshall had partially been paying attention the TV, so when the lookout doors open and then closed, Marshall turned around to see Chase standing there.

"Chase? What are yo-"

"We need to talk," Chase interrupted, a stern look on his face. "I think we've said this while in Katie's shop."

Seeing as how Marshall had remembered that, the Dalmatian had the never to look guilty.

"Oh." He said. For a moment, there was silence and Marshall looked at Chase. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Actually, I want you to start. Please," Chase started, looking at the Dalmatian through his lashes. "Let me know how you feel. I want to know so maybe I can make it better."

Marshall was surprise to hear this and looked at him.

"You...you serious?" He asked. Chase nodded and with a deep breath, trying to get his emotions together, Marshall started ranting.

"Can I just say this? Fighting you is like fighting against a current in a river," He said and Chase could _hear_ struggle in Marshall's voice to not let everything out and start shouting at him. "The more you try to fight it, the further down the current pushes you, to the near point of drowning. It's because of this, while sitting around, doing nothing, it made me realize - I can't win."

The tears were slowly falling down Marshall's face and Chase wanted nothing, but to lick them away.

"I can't win. I can try, oh I can try, but I know I can't win. I have always admired your strength, Chase. I admired your passion, your drive, your stubbornness to get a job done, your focus. I loved all that about you and so much more. But when I had that turned against _me_ I felt the irony of the situation. Everything I loved about you became the very thing that I hated. Because I couldn't get through to you," Marshall's vision was starting to blur and for a moment, he felt like he was underwater again. "No matter how hard I screamed, no matter how hard I banged and yelled, I couldn't. Get. Through. It had to take me to become a monster to see what you were doing to me, without even trying."

Marshall sniffled.

"I had lost myself because my heart just _broke_ and I had no idea how to fix it. I was scared of the future, because I've seen what being hopelessly in love does to people, and I was scared that that's going to be _me._ I didn't want that, I didn't want to be trapped in a place where I wasn't getting the love I deserved. I met a guy, you know. After you yelled at me." Chase flinched at the memory. "He's such a sweet guy, Chase. He could sing, play the guitar and even offered me food! But you know what's been bugging me about him? He's single. Why is he single? Because he _can't forget._ He can't forget his ex, who happens to be another guy, and even though he's much better off without him, he's still in love with him. This whole time, he's in love with another man who's halfway across the planet by now."

Marshall hiccupped.

"And a thought came to me - I thought of you, Skye, and me. I thought back on the days where _I_ use to be the one you loved, the one you'd protected. _I_ was the one that you cared most for, it was me. Everything you felt for Skye, you felt it for _me._ "

 _And now you don't feel the same_  
I remember you use to shiver every time I said your name  
You said nothing felt as good as when you gaze into my eyes  
Now you don't care I'm alive  
How did we let the fire die?

Hearing this song echoing in his mind, Marshall sobbed.

"You use to be my everything. My protector, my best friend, my...my Chase..." Marshall whispered, and the tears wouldn't stop and he was struggling to breath, but somehow, was trucking his way through. "And to think, the thing that destroyed it all was this one girl. This one pup. This girl that I-" **I despise with a fiery passion. She took my place and you let her.** "That I'm jealous of. Because I'm not her, I will never be her."

 _Tell me what makes her so much more better than me?_  
What makes her everything I could never be?  
What makes her your every dream and fantasy?  
Because I can remember when it was me

"And I know that. Now. Maybe I was living in a fool's paradise, trying to make you see, to get you to remember that I was the one you'd claimed as a mate, but for a moment, I thought some of your feelings were returning. I thought you remembered. But every since this movie started, hell, even before that, you've been acting strange around me. At first, I thought you knew about my feelings, but...it didn't take long for me to figure out that you're still in love with me. But your pride was the wall between us two, and on top of that, Skye had been the biggest thing."

Marshall let out a choked laugh.

"To this day, you still want to be with her, right?"

Silence. When Marshall didn't get an answer, he glared at Chase. "Answer me. You still love her? Still want to be mates with her?"

Chase gulped.

For all Chase knew, it was a trick question. If he said yes, then it'll prove everything Marshall had said until now true and at the end, cost him Marshall. He could never, truly have Marshall if Chase still loved Skye.

He had answered this question once before, excluding the time Marshall had been the one to ask it. He had said yes, because he knew, in his heart, he would still love and be sweet on Skye. It was just that small part of him that's still hanging on.

But Marshall couldn't be second-best; he had to be the only one or Chase will get nothing and everything Chase had went through, what they both went through, was all for naught.

"Are you asking me to forget Skye?" He asked and Marshall shook his head.

"No. I know you won't. But, I can't be in second place. I need to be first." Marshall said. Chase then stepped forward and placed a kiss on Marshall's cheek, which caused the Dally to freeze in place.

"Then, no. No I don't love her." He whispered and when Chase pulled away, Marshall continued to stare at him in shock. "Marshall, I'm not going to lie to you. A part of me still love Skye. You and I both know it," Before he could break down in tears, Chase hushed him. "But, that's only a small part of me. The rest of me is all you. Yes, I remember the times where I use to protect you, use to be by your side. I remember calling you mine, remember wiping away your tears, just like I'm doing now," He said, giving Marshall soft, gentle licks to his cheeks. "I remember this feeling I have for you and, let me tell you, it's a lot more stronger now than it was when we were small."

They both chuckled at that.

"I can't say I'm sorry for what I did to you, because it means that you just see my 'sorry's as another lie. But let me make it up to you. I'll take you out on a date, if that's what you want. I'll take you back to that garden we found when were exploring the forest, remember that? Take you out to the sea, take you anywhere you want. I'll do your bidding if it means having you, keeping you, by my side as my Beta. Let me love you again, please." Chase whispered, pressing kisses on Marshall's cheek, which caused the Dally to break out in giggles.

**Love your Beta, protect your Beta, take care of your Beta.**

"Please, just once. Let me take away your pain, the pain that I've caused to my precious Beta." Chase whispered, still kissing up on Marshall, who at this point, was blushing very red.

"C-Chase..."

"I..." Chase paused. "I apologize. I never want to put you through that again. Let me have you again, please."

"Chase," Marshall whispered, looking at the German Shepherd with shock and slightly surprise in his eyes. Then, he started to weep. "Dang it, Chase. You are too sweet, you know that? I want to be mad at you, I was willing to walk away from this, from you. So, give me one good reason why I should stay."

"You love me."

It wasn't an accusation, it wasn't something Chase would say in mockery. It was a fact.

"And I hate myself for falling even harder than I did before. Chase, I'll be glad to have you back on my side again." Marshall said and before he knew it, the Dalmatian was knocked down, knocking the wind out of him, but he hardly had the time to complain about his broken rib - he had a 75 pound GSD on him giving him kisses. Despite himself, Marshall laughed.

Maybe it was stupid to stay with someone who wasn't completely 100 percent in the relationship, but Marshall knew Chase enough to know that when he set his mind on something, he'll do it to the fullest 110 percent.


	34. Chapter 34

A week later after, and the transition of Chase and Marshall had never went by as smooth as it did. Chase had meant it when he'd said that he would love Marshall again, staying by his side whenever he needed him, making sure the Dalmatian got the proper care he deserved. If it had proved anything, it proved that Chase's pride really was holding him back when it came to loving Marshall - the Shepherd hung onto every word the Dally ever said, laughed at his jokes - his true, genuine laugh - and cuddled him mercilessly.

The others were happy to see both Marshall and Chase so happy and in love with each other. Skye couldn't stop cooing about how cute they were, Rocky was grateful that Chase finally gotten his head together and saved Marshall's heart, Zuma thumbed them up, all the while, planting kisses on Rocky's face, and Rubble didn't seem to mind the change of heart.

"You two make me so sick, watching you." Katie said, smirking as Chase nuzzled Marshall's forehead.

"Aww, what's wrong Katie? Ryder haven't ask you out yet?" Marshall taunted back, and the three laughed.

"For your information, Ryder and I _have_ been going out. For a couple of days, now." The blonde said, making both of the pups stop what they were doing and look at her, eyes wide.

"What?" Chase choked.

"Really? When did this happen?" Marshall asked, looking at the blonde. Katie grinned.

"After the first time he'd asked me out. Since then, we've been seeing each other more." She said. Both dogs looked at each other for a minute before busting out laughing.

"Well, I'll be, Ryder finally grew a spine and ask you out!" Marshall laughed.

"No wonder you're so sassy now. Dating Ryder must have brought out that sass we knew you were hiding, Katie." Chase teased, and the blonde rolled her eyes with a smile on her face.

"Anyway, what's going on with the movie? You guys still going or...?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think we are. Most of us, anyway. Marshall, do you still want to sit this one out?" Chase asked, looking over at the Dalmatian with worry in his eyes. Seeing the concern, Marshall smiled and rubbed his head against Chase's neck.

"Hmm...I don't know, do I have to sit through you and Skye kissing?" Marshall had teased, but Chase took it seriously.

"No. Actually, I'm going to head over to the productions and ask Rachael if she could switch me and Rubble's places." He said, licking the top of the Dally's forehead and Marshall sighed, content. When he realize what Chase was saying, however, his eyes went wide and pulled back to look at him.

"First, why Rubble?" He asked. Chase shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, Rubble _did_ have a thing for her. It must've grown at some point, and really...I can't get mad at that." He said, leaning over to place kisses on Marshall's neck. The Dalmatian moaned softly, closing his eyes as Chase continued. So lost in their world, Katie had to cough to bring them back.

"Ahem." They broke apart, blushing.

"Sorry." Chase said, grinning sheepishly as Katie rolled her eyes.

"And secondly...you would do that for me?" Marshall asked, looking at Chase with wide eyes. Chase nodded and nuzzled him again, breathing into his scent and exhaling it back out. _Forgot how good he feels._ Chase thought, closing his eyes.

"I'll do anything for my mate." He muffled, and Marshall blushed.

"Aww, so cute it makes me sick!" Katie teased, which caused Marshall to roll his eyes.

"Don't start it, Katie. You wouldn't like it very much if I did the same to you and Ryder." The Dalmatian said, causing Katie to laugh. Soon, she got up and heading out the door, saying that Cali must be worried since she wasn't home yet. Marshall watched her go before turning back to his half-awake mate. "Chase?"

"Hmm?" Chase said, sounding like he was already on his way to bed.

"If...if you can convince Rachael to put Rubble in your place instead, then maybe..." He bent low to whisper into the German Shepherd's ear. "Maybe, I'll consider joining the movie."

Chase tensed, and looked up at Marshall, eyes wide.

"You...you mean it?" He asked and Marshall nodded.

"Consider it our time together. After that, then...could you take me to the gardens like you said?" He asked. Chase nodded and planted a kiss on Marshall's muzzle.

"Of course." Chase whispered, making Marshall giggle. Chase smiled, digging his head into the bone crest of Marshall's chest, which made Marshall laugh.

"Love you, Marshall." Chase said. Marshall smiled.

"Love you too, Chase."


	35. Chapter 35

"Got you now, Blaze!" Skye said, blocking the only exit Rubble had. The English Bulldog growled, glaring at her.

"Lani..." He said just as the Cockapoo came closer, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm going to ask you this one more time," She growled, before jumping onto Rubble and pinned him to the ground. "Where. Is. Amanda?!"

"Sleeping with the fishes." Rubble sneered, and before Skye could do anything, a voice called out.

"CUT! That was perfect you guys! Take five, and then meet us back here so we can wrap this production up." Rachael said, smiling. As everyone started to clear, Skye got up from Rubble.

"You were great Skye." Rubble said, making her blush.

"Thanks, you too Rubble." Skye said, wagging her tail as the English Bulldog blushed. That's when everyone else came up to them.

"Great job, you two." Rocky said, making the two smile.

"Can you believe this is almost over? It feels like we haven't stayed for very long." Everest said as she and the others began to walk to their tables for lunch.

"Well, they are on a time limit. That fire really set them back." Rocky said, making Everest sigh.

"Yeah..."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll see Bruno soon." Skye teased, causing Everest to blush while everyone else laughed. That's when Rubble looked over at Marshall, who was sitting by Chase, eating his lunch.

"So Marshall, why the change of heart? And Chase, why did you want me to take your place?" Rubble asked, looking at the two. Marshall was about to answer, when Chase stopped him by answering first.

"I honestly think _you_ would play the better lead role than I would, Rubble. I'm only giving you a push." He said, but giving Rubble that knowing glance, which caused the Bulldog to blush once more.

"As for me, well...let's just say a little birdie had encourage me to do so." Marshall said, giving Chase a soft smile which caused Chase to nuzzle him. This earned them a 'aww!' from Skye, a roll of eyes from Rocky, a 'Dude, get a room!' comment from Zuma, and a cock of a head from Rubble.

"A birdie? You mean, Lil Hootie?" He asked. Marshall and Chase looked at each other for a bit, biting on their lower lip, trying not to laugh, before Marshall answered him.

"Yeah Rubble," He said, snuggling up under Chase. "Lil Hootie told me."

* * *

As the movie started to wrap up, Amanda turned to Ryder.

"You guys really are amazing, you know? Rescuing animals from the fire, saving Crystal. I don't think there's enough words in the dictionary to describe how I'm feeling." She said, smiling.

"Well, like I said, if you are ever in trouble, just yelp for help!" Ryder said, doing his signature move as the pups howled in an agreement. "Besides, Marshall's the true hero. He was the one that rescued two little girls and Lil Hootie."

Amanda turned to the Dalmatian and smiled.

"I know, that was so brave of you. How are you feeling now?" She asked.

"Pretty good. No signs of illness yet, so the antibiotics Katie gave to me must be working." Marshall answered.

"And your chest?"

"Still hurting, but not as much as it was before. I didn't know it took this long to heal a broken rib." He said, looking over at Chase with a small smile on his face.

"We've all been trying to get him as comfortable as possible with it. If we keep it up, the rib will be healed by the end of this month, maybe a week into the next one." Ryder said.

"Rachael took that into consideration, which is why Marshall and Chase are sitting on the sidelines as side characters in the movie. Plus, she couldn't help but notice how neither of the two can keep their paws off each other." Amanda said, snickering as the two blush. Ryder laughed as the ten year old girl turned to him. "You know, just before we head back, we're throwing a party after this last scene. We'd be honored to have you with us."

Ryder looked down at the pups.

"What do you think?"

"Let's party!" Marshall cheered, causing both Chase and Ryder to laugh.

"And we would be honored to join you." Ryder said, making Amanda smile.

* * *

After the shooting, as the sun went down, Ryder, Katie, and the pups were all at City Hall, enjoying the party Amanda had said they were having. Zuma and Rocky were sitting at a table, snuggling and talking to each other, while Rubble and Skye were running around, chasing after each other. Ryder and Katie were talking to the crew, getting more insight of what the movie was about, as well as the crew giving them points and tips if they ever decided to join the movie business. Everest and Bruno were watching some of the clips together, commenting here and there, and as for Marshall and Chase?

The two were watching the whole thing, under each other. Seeing this was Marshall's human friend, Nick, who raised an eyebrow.

"They look cute." He said out loud.

"Yeah, they do." A voice said, causing Nick to jump and turn around to see a guy standing there, and flushed.

Forest green eyes crinkled as a smile appeared on his face, showing off his dimples.

"Name's Jesse. You are?" Nick blushed.

"Nick." He said.

"Well then, Nick. Wanna help me out with a favor? As a return, maybe a little dinner and a movie?" Jesse asked, smiling even wider as Nick's blush turned darker.

"O-Okay."

Meanwhile, Marshall sighed, resting his head on Chase's paw when he heard a certain voice he'd recognize anywhere.

_Yeah, yeah_

Marshall looked up.

"Is that...Nick?" He asked. Chase looked at him with an raised eyebrow.

"Nick?"

"My friend." He said, looking directly at the man he became friends with. That's when Chase followed his eye sight and his mouth dropped.

"Jesse?!" Marshall looked at his mate.

"Friend?"

"Yeah. What on earth are they doing?"

 _Oh yeah,_  
Got myself a notion  
One I know that you'll understand  
To set the world in motion  
By reaching out for each other's hand  
Maybe we'll discover, what we should've known all along, yeah

"Hey, I like this song!" Chase said, bopping his head to the beat, which made Marshall grin.

 _One way or another, together's where we both belong_  
If we listen to each other's heart, we'll find we're never too far apart  
And maybe love is the reason why  
For the first time ever, we're seeing it eye to eye

As Marshall and Chase nod to the beat, the Dalmatian saw Everest and Bruno heading to the dance floor, the Husky smiling and blushing. Out of the corner of his eye, Rubble and Skye were doing the same.

 _If a wall should come between us_  
Too high to climb, too hard to break through  
I know that love will lead us  
And find a way to lead me to you  
So don't be in a hurry, think before you count us out, ooh  
You don't have to worry, I won't ever let you down

That's when Jesse started to sing.

_Nothing's gonna stop us now_

Seeing Ryder and Katie joining the dance floor too, both wearing identical grins, Ryder began twirling her around, making Katie laugh. Seeing how Rocky and Zuma were the only two out, Marshall looked at Chase.

"Dance?" He asked.

 _If we listen to each other's heart, we'll find we're never too far apart_  
And maybe love is the reason why  
For the first time ever, we're seeing it eye to eye

Chase blinked, before smiling at Marshall.

"Why not?" With that, the two got up and heading towards the dance floor.

 _I think we're seeing it eye to eye, yes we are_  
I think we're seeing it eye to eye  
I think we're seeing it eye to eye

In almost the exact same format, Chase began to spin Marshall around, which caused the Dally to laugh as the two groove to the beat. Marshall didn't care how silly they looked, he was having fun, and seeing them having fun, made Rocky and Zuma join them too. Seeing how they got everyone to dance, Jesse and Nick smiled.

 _If you're ever lonely, stop_  
You don't have to be, after all is stolen  
I'll beat away from you to me  
Take a look inside and you'll see, yeah

 _If we listen to each other's heart, we'll find we're never too far apart_  
And maybe love is the reason why  
For the first time ever, we're seeing it eye to eye

As they continue to sing, Chase twirled Marshall around so they can face each other. Noses pressed against each other, Chase smiled.

"Love you." He said, and Marshall gave him a lick in response, which caused Chase to giggle.

 _For the first time, for the first time  
Seeing it, seeing it baby  
For the first time, for the first time  
_ _Seeing it eye to eye_

_Eye to eye, eye to eye, eye to eye  
Eye to eye_

_Eye to eye._


	36. Chapter 36

The very next day, the group was starting to wrap up and was heading their way out of Adventure Bay.

"It's sad to see you go. It feels like you guys just been here for less than a week." Mayor Goodway said. Rachael smiled.

"I know, but such life as a movie producer. Time is never on your side." She said, before looking at Ryder and the pups. "Ryder, pups, I can't thank you enough for rescuing Crystal. And I'm so happy you guys wanted to be a part of the movie."

"Anytime, Rachael. Whenever there's trouble, just yelp for help." Ryder said. Rachael smiled and looked down at the pups.

"I hope everything works out with you guys, especially you two, Marshall and Chase." She said. The mention pups blushed, Chase nuzzling Marshall on the top of his head. Everyone cooed at them before looking back at each other.

"Anyway, it's time to go. I hope we can see you guys again in the near future." Rachael said, smiling. Amanda waved.

"See you later, Ryder. See you later, PAW Patrol." She said and everyone waved goodbye. As they took off, something came into Chase's mind and looked over at Ryder.

"Ryder sir? Can I ask you a question?" He asked.

"Of course, Chase. What is it?"

"Do you know anything about a person named Janie The Magician? Sasha said something about her, and I wanted to know who is she." Chase said. Ryder started to scratch his head when Katie gasped.

"Janie? I know her! She's a famous magician that use to work for Raymondo's circus! Aww, she was always so cool with her magic tricks and her ability to guess things right!" She said, causing everyone to stare at her.

"You know her Katie?" Ryder asked.

"A little. When I was little, and before you came here Ryder, Raymondo use to stop by Adventure Bay just about every week at Janie's request because this was her hometown, and she would always wow us with her newest tricks she'd learn on the road or by her old teacher. Then, at the end of each performance, Janie would pick an audience member and ask them to tell her what's on their mind. If she guessed correctly, whatever the member's thoughts were would appear right in front of them, in midair." Katie said.

"Wow..."

"A real magician that can do real magic? That's awesome!" Rubble said as the others agreed.

"So what happen to her? Why is she not around?" Chase asked, which made Katie frowned.

"She...well...she...nobody knows, exactly." She said.

"What?" Rocky gasped.

"You mean, she just disappeared?! Like one of her magic tricks?!" Rubble said.

"Except, it's not a magic trick and if it is, it isn't funny. Janie has been missing for over twenty years now. The police has no idea where she could be or if she's even alive." Katie said. That's when Ryder turned to Chase.

"Why did you want to know Chase?"

"Sasha said that looking for Janie would help me understand how she knew about my future with Marshall." Chase said.

"Yeah, now that you've mentioned it, she seem to know that I loved you before you knew Chase." Marshall said, blushing as Chase smiled at him.

"Same with me. I never even told her about my crush on Zuma, she just guessed." Rocky said. Zuma's eyes went wide.

"That's weally cweepy." He said. Katie scratched her head as she thought about it.

"Well...it's been said that Janie had a dog, but I never saw her with one. They say it was a black French Poodle, with a diamond crusted collar, and often times, seems to know just as much as Janie does. I've once heard Raymondo say that the dog was a psychic." She said. Everyone stopped and looked at each other.

"You don't think Sasha was Janie's dog, do you?" Chase asked.

"Could be, anything's possible."

"So then, where's Janie? Sasha is alive and well, and I don't see her crying about her as one would expect a dog would." Rubble said.

"Yeah, come to think of it, Sasha doesn't look remorseful as one would when it comes to the death of an owner." Skye said. The two humans shrugged their shoulders.

"Maybe Janie is still alive, somewhere."

"Yeah..."

After that, everyone went about their business. Katie was still in her shop, now occasionally talking to Ryder since no one was in trouble; Rubble and Skye were down at the beach, playing; Zuma and Rocky were at the playground swinging on the swings, and Marshall and Chase were heading towards the forest, to the garden as Chase had promised him.

"It's been so long since we've been here." Marshall said, walking next to Chase. Chase nodded his head, staring at the brunt grass and trees.

"With the fire, I'd assume the garden isn't as beautiful as it once was." Chase muttered, and Marshall nuzzled him.

"That's okay, the garden will grow back to its natural beauty, and maybe we can help it, if we need to." The Dalmatian said, causing Chase to chuckle and plant a kiss on top of Marshall's forehead.

"I love your happy-go-lucky attitude. Don't ever change, Marshall." Chase whispered, making Marshall giggle. Soon, they came to their spot and stared. As expected, the fire had ruined all the beauty and grace that the garden had to offer, but as Marshall had said, the plant life was starting to take anew, as moss and flower buds were starting to grow.

"Remember when we use to play here all the time? Ryder would always get worried whenever we weren't home by a certain time." Marshall said.

"I remember it was because of the wolves that were around that made Ryder worry so much." Chase muttered, making Marshall frown a little.

"I'm sorry for your toy, Chase. I didn't mean it." He said and Chase just butted heads with him.

"It's okay, I had forgiven you a long time ago. Besides, how could I let one little toy ruin the best thing I ever had?" Chase said, pressing kisses on Marshall's muzzle, and the Dally blushed. "Hey, I...kind of got a confession to make."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Um, stay right here." With that, Chase ran straight from Marshall and began sniffing the ground. Once he got what he was looking for, Chase began to dig and when he found what he was looking for, he picked it up with his teeth and showed it to Marshall, who gasped.

"Mr. Teddy!" He said, looking at the dirt covered, worn out stuff bear in Chase's mouth. Chase had the nerve to look guilty.

"When we were younger, I...I think the only the only word that I can come up with is obsession. I used to be so obsessed with you, to the point that I was jealous of all the love you would give to...this stuff bear." Looking back on it, Chase was surprise that little memory didn't tell him what he needed to know. "So...I hid it. I didn't expect Ryder to give you another one, however. This...this happened before you told me about my toy."

Marshall just stared his mate, who was blushing.

"I didn't mean to take my anger out on you...it was mostly because of the bear and I had thought you'd done it purposely. I thought you knew it was me who took your teddy bear. That isn't much to excuse my behavior, but I just wanted you to know that...I never meant to hurt you like I did. Seems like I can't do anything without hurting your feelings. I'm sorry Marshall." Chase said, placing the toy down on the ground.

Marshall continued to stare at Chase and the German Shepherd had wondered if Marshall was regretting choosing him as his mate.

"You silly," The Dalmatian said, smiling as he got up and kissed Chase on the nose. "All of that is in the past, Chase. I mean, yeah I am upset that you took Mr. Teddy away from me, but...I can't get mad at you for something that happened long ago. This doesn't change how I feel about you. I still love you, flaws and all."

Chase smiled.

"Love you too." Suddenly, their pup tag went off.

_"PAW Patrol! To the lookout!"_

"Ryder needs us!" They both said before looking at each other.

"Race ya back to the lookout!" Marshall said. Chase smirked.

"Prepare to eat my dust, Dally." He said, giving him a kiss before racing off. Marshall blinked before realizing Chase was getting a head start and began to run after him.

"Cheater! You're a cheater!" Chase laughed.

"All is fair, love!"

"I don't wanna hear that!"

Chase just smiled, eyes narrowed in focus.

 _Just like old times, eh Marshall?_ He thought, smiling as he realize that the person who he loved the most had been the one that stood beside him for the longest, and for that, Chase continued to thank his lucky stars for such a loyal, loving mate. _Love you so much._

**End.**


End file.
